A Spark of Hope
by TGGDSD
Summary: Dipper is now 18 and studying the oddities of Gravity Falls in the place of his Great-Uncle Ford, when he is reunited with his old crush Wendy after her time studying abroad for two years. As they catch up, the pair are exposed to the power of an ancient relic that controls destiny itself, and the ancient evil that follows it. Fantasy/Action/Romance - COMPLETE.
1. Chapter 1

A Spark of Hope

Ch.1

It was another normal day in Gravity Falls; or at least normal for Dipper Pines, which meant there was some manner of unbelievable monstrosity trying to devour the young man. While this would traumatize most people, this was pretty normal for Dipper since he'd arrived in the town six years ago for a Summer Break with his twin sister Mabel. Since that first Summer, Dipper and Mabel had plenty of trips to their Great-Uncles' place: 'The Mystery Shack.'

As the youth ran through the thick forest darting over stumps and branches, he could hear the sickening grunting of the beast he accidentally disturbed while out on one of his "nature studies." Glancing back for a brief moment was enough encouragement Dipper needed to keep running. He'd aggravated the fabled 'Porcupede' – a horrific combination between a porcupine and centipede. Imagine a centipede as tall as a Rottweiler and as long as a limo, covered in long quills that bristled in anger as it chased its prey.

After spending the last few years studying the denizens of the Gravity Falls, Dipper had learned many tricks to deal with the local wildlife, if it could even be called that. But in this case running was the best option. "Centipedes are ambush hunters, so if I can get far enough away he should just leave me be, right?" Dipper asked himself between breaths.

Meanwhile back at the Mystery Shack, Mabel sat on a stool in the gift shop, browsing through her photo album form over the years, giggling at the pictures of herself and her brother. As she turned each page, fresh memories of years past entered her mind. "This was the time we freed Octavia from that petting zoo, and this was when we beat that creepy Kobold who went around stealing stuff as gifts for his ex-girlfriend, like she was ever going back to him!" Mabel scoffed mentally at the thought. Upon turning the next page, the funny brunette noticed a photo fall from its place and bent down to retrieve it. The glossy square showed her brother sitting on a fallen log next to a red-head. His face was bright red while the lanky girl laughed. "Oh Wendy, if only you knew…" Mabel trailed off, a smirk on her face.

On cue, the door to the Shack swung open followed by groaning as Dipper made his way through. "What happened bro-bro!?" exclaimed Mabel upon noticing the many holes in her brother's duster-coat.

"I was nearly turned into a kebab by a Porcupede on my way back from the Glass-Caves," he replied still trying to calm his thumping heart. That's when he noticed the photo album, and the particular picture in his twin's hand. A sad smile came to his face as he thought aloud; "I wonder how old Wendy is doing these days."

He remembered the last conversation he had with the lumberjill two years ago, when she told him that she was going to study abroad at different universities across the country and so wouldn't be around for when himself and Mabel would be staying in Gravity Falls. Occasionally letters would arrive from their friend but the address changed with each letter, so Dipper couldn't even keep tabs on where she was.

"Don't get sappy on me Dipper, you know she's fine," Mabel reminded him. She knew full well her brother still had a crush on the red-head, but after six years it couldn't really be called a crush. He was in love with her, but never let it show since his confession that first Summer after defeating the Shapeshifter.

"I know Mabes, but I, er, we all miss her. The place just doesn't have that relaxed feeling during work hours anymore, you know?" Dipper said as he handed the photo carefully back to his sister. She knew what he meant; one less friend for Dipper to be around did leave a mark on her nerdy brother.

That evening as the people of the town readied themselves for bed, a bus pulled up outside Greasy's Diner. A lone passenger stepped off with a large suitcase in one hand, and a pine-tree cap in the other. She took a deep breath, smelling the scent that was her home town, and with a wide grin started walking to her cabin in the woods. Wendy Corduroy was back!

It was only a short walk through the wood before she was standing at her front door, where she found a note. "Family road trip – back in 3 weeks, D. Corduroy." Wendy sighed since nobody was around to welcome her back after her time away. "Well, no sense moping about in the dark, let's get some grub," she whispered to herself.

Back at the Mystery Shack, the twins had just finished watching a Duck-tective marathon and as usual, Mabel had fallen asleep on the sofa. However, Dipper wasn't tired at all, the very opposite in fact. He hadn't been able to brush away the thoughts of Wendy since he came home that afternoon, and decided to go for a walk. He threw on his duster, now with holes in various places, and Wendy's trapper-hat; a gift after his first Summer in Gravity Falls.

After strolling about the roads for some time, Dipper decided to check up on the Corduroy house, since 'Manly' Dan asked him to watch for possible looters during his trip away. "Only a mad man, or a monster would try to steal from Dan," Dipper thought to himself. As he approached to log cabin he heard knocking about from inside. His thoughts when straight to the worst case scenario. It could be gnomes looking for food, or a hawktopus after squirming in through the chimney. Oh god, what if it's some thugs stealing jewellery from Wendy's room. That, that was the drive Dipper needed to rush for the cabin. Nobody was going to take anything of Wendy's while he was around.

The front door was ajar, and the noises resonated from deeper in the house. Dipper pushed open the oaken entrance and quickly moved inside, closing the door after him. "Okay, I'll catch them off guard and then…. oh shit, what then. What if they're armed?" Dipper thought. There was no time, this was it. He ran into the room full speed.

"Stop thief! You won't take a single thing from this house!" Dipper announced leaping at the perpetrator, only to be grabbed by the arm and swung into the wall. "Agh, dammit!" Dipper yelped as he smacked his head hard. With a sweep of the leg, he was on the floor face down, a weight pressing down on his back.

"Excuse me! What are you doing in _my_ _house_?" the voice inquired. Dipper knew the voice, but couldn't believe his ears, it couldn't be her! "W-Wendy? Is that really you?"

"No way, Dipper?" the red-head asked. She couldn't believe it; why was Dipper here before Christmas. "Why are you here?"

"I'd love to tell you, but could I get up first?" Dipper muttered, a deep blush across his face as he could feel Wendy's ass pressed against his centre back.

"Heh, sorry dude, but you did just try to jump me in my own kitchen. You okay?" Wendy giggled as she allowed her friend to get back onto his feet.

"Yeah, just a little stunned. I'll be fine in a few minutes." Dipper held his head for a moment before turning to his friend. It felt like his heart was about to burst out of his chest. He was standing face to face with Wendy, only now he was about an inch or two taller than the lumberjill. Looking into her emerald eyes seemed to slow time itself. The grin on her face had the warmth of an angel's wings for Dipper, and it felt like all his worries fell out of his head.

"Wow, look at you! You're, like, all cool now. What happened to my little dork?" Wendy exclaimed eyeing her guest up and down. Beginning to feel embarrassed when she realised she was staring at Dippers chest; like a fan-girl fixated on her favourite celebrity, Wendy quickly turned around to her fridge. "Can I get you a drink? And then you tell me about why you're here, and in December!"

"Thanks Wendy, I'll have some coffee if you're brewing some," Dipper asking as he pulled up a chair. A minute later the two were sitting down and catching up on all the adventures that the other had experienced.

"No way, dude that's insane! So you live here now and study under Ford, why didn't you tell me?" Wendy inquired sipping her brew.

"Because your address changed with every letter you ever sent back," Dipper reminded her smiling at how revved up she was at the news.

"O-Oh, right. Sorry about that; just my studies, you know," Wendy blushed at her own excitement. She was just elated to be back with her most trusted friend, that she forgot she had been off-the-radar for the last two years.

After an hour of catching up, Wendy was back up to date on the events that had occurred in her absence. "Well, it's really late and you're probably exhausted," Dipper yawned. He reached for his coat when he felt Wendy's hand on his arm. "Eh, is everything alright?" he asked her slightly concerned.

"Y-Yeah, it's just that it's, like, really dark now and, you know, there's all sorts of weirdness out there…. so how about you…. stay here tonight?" Wendy asked trying hard to keep her face from turning red. Why had she done this, Dipper was the most capable person she knew, and she could definitely take care of herself. So why did she want him to stay with her.

Dipper figured it was just some sort of home sickness, after all, none of her family were around and she would probably want somebody else in the empty house as a precaution. And he remembered almost painfully how he was rejected when he was twelve, on the basis of age difference. Since getting used to the strangeness of Gravity Falls after a long break isn't something a smart person does alone, Dipper thought Wendy was just being clever. Even he had Mabel with him at the start of each trip out into Oregon over the years.

"Sure Wendy, whatever you want. I'll sleep on the couch in the main room, yeah?" Dipper asked, sleep beginning to claim his consciousness. Hey lay down and threw his coat over himself like a blanket and wished his friend goodnight.

Wendy was on her way out of the room when she looked back at Dipper. Even under the makeshift blanket she could tell he had grown well and fit. A tough but agile build that suited the occupation of the Weirdologist. When the brief thought of her friend's well-toned body lying on her bed send blood into her cheeks, she ran into her room and closed the door. "I rejected him years ago. Even if I had an interest in him, he would never notice it. He would just think it was in his head and blame it on hormones or something," Wendy attempted to convince herself.

Looking in the mirror, Wendy could see her cheeks flushed and feel her heart pounding. She knew what this meant: "You've got a crush on Dipper, you idiot," she sighed to her reflection. "How am I going to go about this, god help me. I should probably ask Mabel for advice, she knows Dipper better than anyone." Wendy knew that the hyperactive brunette would flip out when Wendy told her about her feelings, but it was definitely the best option to get close to Dipper without self-destructing. And so the red-head changed clothes and jumped into bed. Hugging her pillow as she drifted off to sleep thinking about Dipper asleep just outside, and the things she wanted to do with him over the holidays; from monster hunting to Christmas and New Years celebrations.

 **So that the start of my story - I hope to run it for as many chapters as I can without ruining it with filler. For my first ever story I'm pretty proud, since I did it in about four hours between breaks and actual work; and I hope to receive valid criticism. Don't be afraid to voice your thoughts as I will take them on board to try and please everyone. Hopefully you guys will stick with me for the foreseeable future of this story at least!**


	2. Chapter 2

A Spark of Hope

Ch. 2

As the soft dawn approached, streams of light glided through the bedroom window and tickled Wendy's face. With a long yawn and good scratch, she roused herself from the soft mattress. It took a moment before the tomboy realized she was in her own home, which made her grin. "Home, sweet home," she announced as she left to get breakfast. Wendy didn't usually eat until late morning, but always started the day with some juice or coffee. "Today feels like coffee," she decided as she started to brew.

Pouring the back liquid into her favorite mug, a silly gift from Mabel labelled 'HOT STUFF', Wendy shuffled around to watch some morning TV.

"Morning Wendy, sleep well?" asked a drowsy voice. Wendy froze stiff. She'd forgotten that Dipper had spent the night in her bliss of being home. Looking back, she wondered if she could return to her room before Dipper saw her.

Dipper stood up rubbing his eyes. He always got up early, but the talks of last night left him with only four or five hours of broken sleep. A figure came into focus, and the image shocked him to his very soul. Wendy stood like a deer caught in someone's high-beams. Her hair hung lazily over her ears, so Dipper could only see half of each eye. But it was what she was wearing, or lack of, is what jolted his mind. A tight white tank-top, and black panties.

"H-Hey Wendy, did you sleep w— "Dipper was cut off when hot coffee splashed his face. "Aaagghhh, that's hot!" Dipper shouted.

"Sorry, sorry! I panicked" Wendy yelled as she ran back to her room. "Smooth hot head!" she cursed herself as she changed into her default jeans and red flannel shirt.

Dipper made his way into the bathroom after stumbling around few a few seconds. Wiping his face, he looked for any damage. Everything looked in order except he had a Cheshire Cat quality grin. He'd never seen that side of Wendy before and truthfully he loved it. Not to say he disliked anything about her, but now there was more of her to admire. "All right, calm down. Fix that pervy grin dimwit and ready yourself."

Dipper walked out into the kitchen and prepared himself a glass of juice. He waited patiently for his favorite person to return. Wendy inched herself quietly into the room and made eye contact with Dipper.

"What did you see?" the lumberjill asked trying to control her embarrassment, and failing.

Dipper figured the best solution was to feign ignorance; "Well, I was rubbing the sleep from my eyes when you tripped and your coffee blinded me." He knew this was far-fetched but worth a shot to calm his friend.

Wendy sighed as she returned to her usual tone of milky white with freckles. "Y-yeah, sorry. I forgot you were here and you spooked me. You okay dude?" a slight bit of concern in Wendy's voice, knowing she could have scalded him.

"Well, if anything; I'm awake. You'll have to tell me what you put in your coffee, because it has one hell of a kick," Dipper joked trying to reassure Wendy that everything was fine. After all, he'd officially be working with monsters the last two years, he could take some blows every now and then. "How about I call up Mabel and we all go for breakfast at the Diner?" Dipper proposed. Wendy gave a toothy grin and agreed to the idea.

A short while later the pair were at the Mystery Shack, preparing for the bomb shell of a wail that Mabel would release at the sight of her gal-pal. Dipper opened the door and walked into the TV room, where there was an empty blanket tossed on the couch. "Mabel? You here sis?" Dipper called out. He looked back to the front door and shrugged at Wendy.

Suddenly Wendy saw a brown and pink blur slam into Dipper knocking him out of sight. She ran in to see if he was hurt, but what she saw was priceless! Mabel had tackled him with the intensity of a cannon ball into the couch, and was squeezing his ears in her palms. "I woke up and you were gone! No note, no text, no sign of resistance. I thought you were pulled into another dimension for about thirty minutes!" Mabel lectured her brother. Even in a bedazzled set of pink pyjamas, she looked like a force to be reckoned with.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry! Something important came up and I couldn't come home!" Dipper begged hoping his sister wouldn't feed his ears to Waddles as punishment.

"What was so important!? You managed to text me from the pits of the void last week using Ford's amplifier-thingy!" Mabel prodded her brother's forehead while still holding an ear. All Dipper could do was point to the doorway where a mature red-head stood covering her mouth trying hold in her tears of laughter.

"We-We-WENDY!" the brunette boomed, and every creature large and small in Oregon State woke startled and confused. Leaping off her brother she jumped into a hug from her friend, firing questions at a million miles an hour. Wendy couldn't believe it was really Mabel. The girl had grown up just as her twin, though not as tall. Her braces had been gone for three years but now her teeth were properly set, creating an even more amazing grin when she opened her mouth. Despite all the growth, she was just as hyperactive as ever, and that was just fine with Wendy.

"Hey Mabel, yeah, I'm back for the holidays and then it's a short stretch until the finish. I'll let you know all the details at the Diner." Wendy chuckled at the brunette's expression. Mabel turned back to her brother who pointed at his watch; "Hurry up and get changed dummy, I'm buying." And like a rocket she was off.

Around 11:00am the trio made their way to the diner where they took a booth and waited for service. "Morning Dipper, the usual I take it?" ask Susan with her usual cheerfulness. It was then that she saw Wendy and gasped; "Hiya sweetie, welcome home!" Wendy gave her a quick hug and then asked for one of her famous coffee omelettes. The twins ordered some pancakes with bacon and began their conversations again.

"So Wendy, what's the final course you're taking this year?" Mabel asked with a cheek full of breakfast. "It's actually a combination of Ecology, Biology and Geography; sort of an Environmental Science, with Myth and Legend as an extra," she chirped with pride. Dipper chuckled between bites at the mention of it. "And what's so funny super-nerd?" Wendy mused and poked Dipper in the ribs.

"It's funny because I've been doing that for the last six years here in Gravity Falls, only my results can't be published outside of the town without being called a hoax!" he replied with a grin. "It's true, my brother is a genuine Wierdologist, just like Ford," Mabel snorted while syrup shone on her lips.

After a good laugh Dipper asked; "So what's your final assignment until Summer?"

Wendy thought for a moment; "I can pick one more environment to write my thesis on evolution based on the surrounding natural plains and wildlife," she grinned as Dipper raised his eyebrows. "Wow, smart and beautiful, you're one of a kind." Dipper realized he'd said that out loud when Wendy's cheeks flushed, so he jumped up to pay the bill at the counter.

Wendy turned back to her plate, then to Mabel who looked like she was watching a baby quadracorn being born. "Wendy…. what does that look on your face mean?" she asked not blinking. "It's nothing Mabes, it's just tha- "

Mabel was already breathing rapidly, and a smile locked on her face; "Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God! You have the hots for Dipper!" the girl whisper screamed. "When did this happen? Why do you like him now after all these years?" excitement almost bursting out of the brunette's cheeks.

"Dude, settle! We'll be seen if you go hyper," Wendy begged. Mabel regained her composure but still had stars in her eyes.

"Look he came to the house last night to check that everything was alright. Apparently dad trusts him since Dipper can deal with the supernatural better that anyone in town. I don't know how much they've talked, but this is a big thing for my dad to trust anyone except close friends and family," Wendy explained. "I had just arrived home and was looking for food when Dipper burst in thinking I was a thief….and that's when I threw coffee at him this morning," the lumberjill finished.

Mabel was literally vibrating in her seat from holding in her excitement. "I don't know what to do Mabes, after I rejected him during your first Summer here I don't think he will get close to me. If I try anything it might scare him off or worse," Wendy held her temples, feeling the start of a headache.

Mabel was in overdrive; endless possibilities for matchmaking. Adventure was good but the top of her mind was chiming with bells of Christmas carols. Images of the two in front of a fire, under a blanket watching a classical movie. All of a sudden their eyes meet and Dipper leans in to while Wendy closes her eyes and-

Snap* Snap* "Hey Mabel, come back to me!" Wendy snapped her fingers trying to pull Mabel back into consciousness.

"Oh, yeah, don't worry Wen-wen. These things often work out if they're meant to be," Mabel assured her friend. "And with a little help, dreams will become reality," she thought to herself slyly.

Dipper strolled back to the booth and asked if the girls were ready to go. "I've got some stuff to do Dipping-sauce, but why don't you take Wendy to that place you've been studying the last two weeks?" Mabel suggested casually.

This peaked Wendy's interest. "What have you been studying for so long Dipper? It must be cool if you've gone for over a week," quizzed the red-head. Dipper looked over with a grin and held out his hand. Pulling her up he explained; "You'll love where we're about to go if you're serious about your environmental studies." Mabel stood up and waved them off, asking that they'd be back home by evening so she could cook a 'Welcome Back Dinner.' But that left her all day to plan the perfect locations for the two could-be-lovers to go where sparks could fly.

And so, Dipper lead Wendy out into to woods about an hour North of the Mystery Shack. "Well here we are," the young man exclaimed, pointing to a small cave.

"What's so special about this place, you know, compared to the natural weirdness of this town," Wendy asked, confusion creeping onto her face. Dipper looked her in the eyes, which caused her heart to thump, put his finger to his lips and leapt through the cave entrance. All Wendy saw was the end of his coat whip as he turned, then he was gone. "Hey dude! C'mon, wait up!" called Wendy, running after her friend.

For a small cave it ran deep, very deep. Just as the light behind her was but a flicker, she found Dipper sitting on a small boulder, writing into blue leather journal. He looked up with a smile; "Something to keep _my_ discoveries in," he whispered holding the book. Tucking it away into his coat, Dipper beckoned Wendy to his side and lead her through a hidden opening at the end of the cave. What Wendy saw took her breath away.

On the other side of the opening was a hidden forest, only not of plants and animals, but of crystal glass. "Welcome to the 'Glass Cave' Wendy," Dipper announce with a dramatic bow. The tiniest bit of light that reached this hidden world was reflected off every surface making the forest as bright as day. "Check this out, this is what is most interesting," Dipper exclaimed as he walked her around some trees. "There!" he pointed out something, it took Wendy a second to focus on. "A spider web? Crystal spider web!?" Wendy couldn't believe it. Then she noticed it all: the living crystal spider, crystal squirrels, deer, raccoons, everything was living crystal! "Dipper…. this is amazing," Wendy stared around in awe.

"Well, you're the only person I've ever shown," Dipper said as pulled down a crystal acorn and an abandoned crystal web. "Since none of the living crystal creatures can survive outside of this place, on certain objects can come back," he explained while working on the acorn. "Here, something to remember this place while you're studying abroad," Dipper smiled handing Wendy a fully crystal bracelet with the acorn wound in the center.

As the pair left the cave the sun was setting, and the bracelet flashed with a rainbow of colours. "Depending on the light intensity the crystal will stay fixed at a certain colour. It seems you got lucky with the full rainbow," Dipper commented.

Wendy knew it was no coincidence, the dork had planned his timing to the second, to give her an amazing gift. She clung to his arm as they walked back, enjoying the last calls of the birds before nightfall, neither aware of the blush on the others face.

 **Well another chapter down! Unfortunately I cant keep turning these out daily, since I have college work which I've been ditching. But fret not! There should still be a chapter each week until Christmas, and hopefully this story will be finished by then. Shout out to Geekngroom for her influence on this work! Check out her stuff if you're into Wendip, it's amazing!** **And remember to leave a review if you have any opinions or questions you feel should be addressed in coming chapters.**

 _ **Stay Classy People - TGGDSD**_


	3. Chapter 3

A Spark of Hope

Ch.3

Mabel sat in the kitchen, a fluorescent pen in her hand as she drew lines and shapes across a map of Gravity Falls. It looked like a set piece from an episode of CSI where agents were looking to capture a king-pin; areas colour coded on Mabel's 'Romance Scale,' different notes at restaurants about food, service and scented soaps in the lavatory.

"Maybe that classy Italian restaurant on 12th street? Or that steak and BBQ place across from 'Skull Fracture?' Mabel asked nobody in particular. "When in doubt, have a Mabel-juice break!" and with that went into the kitchen to concoct her beverage. As she began rooting around the fridge and arts box for her ingredients, Mabel was unaware that her brother had returned with Wendy.

"Strange, I would have guessed Mabel would have started cooking by now," Dipper announced. "I'll go see where she is, you just put your feet up and see if there's anything good on TV," he proposed to the lumberjill. She happily took his offer and kicked off her boots before stretching across the couch and flicking through channels. As Dipper wandered into the next room looking for any sign of his sister, he was stopped cold when he saw the map on the table with his face and Wendy's at the top either side of the title 'Spark of Hope.' Dipper couldn't explain what he felt at that moment, mixtures of so many emotions; happiness and sadness, despair and anger, hope and love. He had some questions for his twin but first he had to hide the plans before Wendy saw them.

The red-headed tomboy lay on her side flicking through the channels when she found the B-Movie network. About to get up and check up on the food situation, Wendy paused as her eyes caught the crystal bracelet Dipper made. During this moment the young woman thought of her time away while studying; how she'd never gone out with many of the boys at the different universities due to their immaturity or utter lack of curtesy. There were one or two Wendy had considered dating when they asked, but soon found out they were just trying to get some action with the red-head, and were properly humiliated. The actual idea had come to her when she remembered Dipper explain how with the right ingredients, one could make an egg rancid and brown. Officially he used the foul smelling objects as deterrents for the hostile creatures of Gravity Fall, but could also be used to give the impression a certain person had "Shit themselves."

Coming out of her flashback, Wendy thought to herself how many times Dipper's knowledge in dealing with the strange had saved her both during adventures and in daily college life. The crystal on her wrist sparkled in the light of the TV as she finally stood up and went after the young scientist.

Mabel was in the depths of the refrigerator when a hand grabbed her, this made her scream and kick out, unfortunately nailing her brother in the gut. "Jesus, bro-bro! You scared out my peaches and cream!" accused the brunette. Dipper stood up straight and pushed the love project into Mabel's chest. "Would you ever just leave my love life alone Mabel!" he whispered loudly. The look on her face when she realised that he'd read the plan was of sheer dread. "Please Dipper, you don't understand: Wendy-," the young woman began, but was quickly cut off "-rejected me six years ago and then went abroad. She has been studying across the country and has probably a boyfriend by now! I can't pretend she likes me just cause we're hanging out again. I just want her to enjoy Christmas with us, since her family is away."

In that moment Wendy walked into the room, and sensing tension looks to Dipper and asks; "Hey Dip, everything okay in here?" Dipper turned quickly to meet her concerned gaze, he didn't want to mess with her head, he couldn't tell her that he still loved her after all this time. "Yeah Wendy, Mabel just forgot to get dinner started and I'm starving," he said rubbing his gut, masking the pain he was in from the kick earlier. "Don't mind him Mabel, you know how guys get when they're hungry: my dad nearly chewed through our redwood table when I forget to make dinner one time, we're still missing three of the corners. Now how about you put away whatever arts project you got fixed on, and I'll help prep the grub, sound good?" the red-head smirked rolling up her sleeves. "Cool, you two do that, I'll be back in fifteen minutes; just a short walk to distract my stomach," Dipper announced as he backed out the door, keeping eye contact with his sister, pleading that she just let it go. Mabel sighed and told Wendy to start preparing for Spaghetti Bolognese, and stuffed her plans into a drawer in the next room.

Dipper stood just outside the front door in darkness, the only light was the silvery glow of a full moon, as it hung above the trees. Turning the collar of his duster up, the youth began walking. He had taken the path at least a hundred times before, but was still cautious because of where he was going. Deeper into the darkness he strolled, until even the rustling of nocturnal animals was silent. A single beam of moonlight fell through the trees onto the remains of Bill Cipher. Only the sound of frosty grass crunching under foot could be heard as Dipper approached the statue. Even after six years there was not a sign of decay, just a thin layer of moss around the petrified arms and legs of the demon. This place was feared by all creatures, both of this world and the realm of the supernatural, but for Dipper it was a quiet place where he would never be disturbed in thought.

Dipper had studied the remains of the demon before with various tools to make sure there was no energy left to allow to creature to return once more, but why nature itself literally fled from the grove was still a mystery. The young man stood before the statue, staring deep into its eye, and wondered was there another creature in the world that had the same god-like powers as Cipher, only used for good or better yet; not at all. Dipper knew Bill could generally see into the future, not perfectly but still moderately accurate and thought; "Why did you never lure me in with details about my relationship with Wendy?" Cipher knew of Dipper's crush long before even Dipper himself. The youth sighed and turned around towards the direction he came from, coming to the conclusion that Bill never temped him because of two reasons: Dipper would end up with his red-headed crush and not need to worry about her thanks to a definite survivability timeline, or that Dipper could never be with Wendy allowing him to focus solely on defeating Bill six years ago.

Dipper was about to leave for home when something caught his eye. Below the petrified demon, almost entirely covered in moss was a black ring. Dipper kneeled down and pulled it out with caution and examined it carefully in the fading moonlight. The ring was like obsidian glass with a single gem in the top that morphed subtly, similar to the 'infinidie' Ford showed him long ago. "I'll have to analyse this later, nothing good ever came from Bill and I'll bet this isn't going to be a gift from the heavens either," Dipper slightly worried, placing the ring into his breast pocket inside his coat.

Back at the Shack the two girls prepared the meal, and Wendy noticed that Mabel was looking glum. "What was all that about with Dipper? I can't imagine he got that upset because there was no food, he's too chill for that. Want to tell me what's up Mabes?" the lumberjill inquired. Mabel sighed; "I may or may not have left out my date plans, that I was going to give to you to use on my nerd of a brother. He found them, then freaked out saying that it would just make things awkward and you'd hate him for trying to date you."

Wendy stood dumbfounded, mouth wide open while Mabel started frying mince in a large pan. "Did he actually say that I'd hate him?" the tomboy half shouted in surprise. "Not exactly those words, but trust me; that's exactly what he's thinking," the silly brunette explained poking her forehead with her finger. Wendy knew that the twin almost always knew how the other would react in certain situations, so she believed that Dipper was in a panicked. "And we just let him wander into the woods at night," Wendy whispered to herself. Without a word the red-head leaped out of the room, her apron still tied around her waist, desperate to find Dipper. Unfortunate as she ran for the door, the very man she was looking for opened it from outside causing her to plough full speed into the youth.

Dipper reeled back and held onto Wendy tightly as he fell back against the frosty earth. Landing flat on his back, breath escaped his lungs but was quickly pulled back in so he could check if Wendy was alright. "Whoa there hothead, what's the rush?" he inquired satisfied that she was physically unharmed. The older girl looked up at him and locked eyes. Dipper was transfixed on the emerald orbs that shone even in the dark of night and saw relief in them. Likewise, Wendy saw deep into the chestnut gaze of her friend and saw yearning, sadness, relief and grief behind the fake smile. Dipper was devastated he couldn't admit the truth about his love, but held fast to his promise of silence truly believing that it was the best way to protect his relationship with the lumberjill.

"If he doesn't want to admit his feelings, I'll force him to; by being sickeningly lovey. It may take time, but a steady base is essential for building anything; and I've got six years of poor infrastructure to replace in little over a month," Wendy planned in her head. Mabel came out wiping her hands on a towel, only to find her brother lying back on his elbows with Wendy against his chest only inches from his face. Dipper turned towards the figure in the doorway with shock; firstly, because Mabel had seen them in such a position, and secondly because she was swallowing her hand to prevent herself from screaming with glee!

"M-Mabel! T-This was just an accident, we just, just fell, that's all," the embarrassed wierdologist stammered out. Wendy got up, brushed herself off and turned to Mabel; "Is dinner ready now Mabes?" Her face now in the light showed heaps of blush and a toothy grin as she walked past the semi-choking brunette. Mabel coughed up her own hand and pointed her thumb over her shoulder while smiling at her brother; "It's on the table, get it while it's _hot,_ " she laughed after emphasising the last word and followed the red-head inside.

"She's never going to let me live this down," Dipper sighed as he followed suit and locked the door for the night. Inside the kitchen the girls were already sitting down, in an order the forced Dipper to sit beside Wendy. As they ate the Mabel and Wendy goofed around as they remembered more stories that occurred when Wendy was away. "So yeah, Soos had to babysit a dragon for a weekend and Dipper got roped into it," Mable chuckled showing her friend the night her twin returned with singed clothes and embers still lit in his hair. Wendy coughed up a laugh, trying not to spew food on her dorks; "He's got no eyebrows!" Another fit of laughter started among the two girls while Dipper just sat quietly, blushing like a tomato.

After grub and a bad film, everyone decided to call it a night. "It's 2:30am Wendy, you're staying here tonight," Mabel informed. The lumberjill nodded, not at all bothered with the idea. "So that puts Wendy in our old room with you Mabel?" Dipper checked. Mabel looked to Wendy with a grin that ran from ear to ear while her eyes glowed like stars; "Nope! My bed isn't usable so I'm in your old one Dip-dop! Wendy can spend the night with you in your luxury double bed, thank you," she explained, still looking at her friend who was trying to hide the blush on her face. Dipper ran up to his old room to find one bed soaked from the rain that was pouring through a hole in the roof: a very convenient hole that was shaped like a grappling hook…

Dipper returned downstairs, and his sister just smiled as she walked past him wished the pair a good night. "I need my sleep for a big day tomorrow with the gals, so I'm putting on my ear-muffs: which means I won't hear a thing, even if a tornado shakes the house." Dipper and Wendy turned red knowing full well what she was implying.

 **So here's to another chapter down! This story has really kicked off and the feed back is awesome!**

 **So basically, like I've said before; If there's anything you believe to be a vital part of the story that I didn't expand on, please let me know. Odds are it's planned to be explained in the coming chapters, but I can always squeeze in a little extra for you guys.**

 **Shout outs too Geekngroom and FullMetalKhaos for their help in getting me knowledgeable with the website and the inspiration from their own Wendips!**

 **And as always, Stay Classy everyone!**

 **TGGDSD.**

 _ **P.S - Since I'm up to date on my work in college, it could be another double chapter weekend!**_


	4. Chapter 4

A Spark of Hope

Ch.4

Dipper and Wendy stood awkwardly in Ford's old bedroom, now Dipper's. Both minds racing with a desire to be honest, but also at war to contain those feelings for fear of hurting the other. "You know what, I'll just take the couch. You take the bed for tonight," Dipper proposed as he turned to leave, but was again stopped by a pressure on his arm. Looking back, he was stopped cold by Wendy staring intently into his eyes. "No way Dipper! Nobody sleeps on the couch in their own home!" she argued. Dipper blushed as he tried to explain; "Y-You know that im-implies, that we'd have to, t-to sleep t-together, in the s-same bed?" He was in full blush, trying to ignore the fact that this had been his fantasy for the last six years, to sleep beside Wendy. He'd never take advantage of her, no, no. But it was quite a milestone in any relationship to sleep together.

Wendy stood firm, pink rising into her cheeks; "I don't mind Dipper, really. If I was bothered I'd say so." She gave his sleeve a tug, and he closed the door. And so began the awkward moment of getting changed. Wendy wouldn't let her dork leave the room, knowing full well he'd try to run. Mabel had left a pair of her pyjamas out for her pal, and Dipper had to admit it was the best idea she'd ever had. Due to Mabel's smaller stature, the clothes clung tight to Wendy's figure showing off her curves, but since Wendy didn't exactly develop a large bust due to being incredibly fit; the night shirt drooped loosely, showing off half of her chest.

"Well, now you," Wendy stated trying to hold her composure, although she was trembling with embarrassment. Dipper stood still for a moment, and sighed. He sat on the bed and looked at the red-head, only with a scared look in his eyes. The lumberjill said nothing as she watched from the door. She had seen Dipper in a tight shirt before and knew of his great physique, but she was not prepared for what was beneath. As Dipper changed, Wendy covered her mouth and couldn't hold in her tears: Dipper's back, shoulders and left leg were covered in various scars, some small, others large and deep. "Oh, god Dip, when happened to you?" the young woman asked quietly as she approached slowly.

"It's okay Wendy, just some 'souvenirs' from my projects over the years," he said trying to put on a brave face. Dipper remembered how he got every mark; all caused from being reckless and cocky in the field. Now he was always cautious, all the time, everywhere. He felt a warm hand run lightly over his shoulder as Wendy examined the scars, taking particular interest in the largest. The four large incisions were made when a cornered Basilisk lashed out, unaware Dipper was trying to help it. "I didn't want to show you, because I was afraid you'd freak out," he explained sadly.

Wendy pushed him down onto the mattress carefully and held his head into her chest. Dipper wrapped his arms around her and inhaled her scent. It was a rough pine scent, like one you would smell after a downpour in a forest. It was welcoming and made him feel safe, something he hadn't since Wendy left. Even poor Mabel knew that his paranoia triggered shortly after Wendy left for university. "I have to make up for lost time, he deserves it," Wendy thought holding in her tears. Dipper fell asleep first, exhausted after the events of the last two days; Wendy reached for the lights and followed suit into the void that is sleep.

That morning Mabel was up and active like a chipmunk on adrenaline and coke; prepping breakfast for her brother and friend. While she would love to revel in the awkward love between the two, she had already promised to meet with Candy and Grenda. But she knew her gals would totally want in on the matchmakers plans, and that meant more hands to work with. The brunette sniggered as she threw a tonne of bacon into a pan; nothing woke her bro-bro like the smell of meat cooking. "Just like Stan and Ford," she thought presuming it was a trait of the men in her family. As the smell drifted into Dipper's room, it began to stir the consciousness of the young couple. Dipper awoke in the arms of his red-headed crush, who had managed to wiggle out of her pyjama pants and thankfully was wearing underwear. He decided to try and get up without waking her, but as soon as he tried she clung like a python to his body. "Mmmm…bacon," Wendy mumbled sleepily and started to nibble Dippers ear. "This is bad," the youth thought as he could feel the blood leaving his head, and moving to other places. He tried to move her arms but to no avail, so he tried a different approach. "Desperate times call for desperate measures, right?" he quizzed himself. Dipper gently leaned into her stomach and blew at her navel, causing the tomboy to gasp herself awake. Looking down at Dipper with his head literally inside her shirt made her smile. Her dork didn't seem to realise she was awake and continued to blow gently onto her pale skin, and then began to caress her sides and thighs. Wendy was in bliss but the physicality of the situation was too much and she loosened up. Not wanting to embarrass her love target, she pretended to still be asleep. It was a long shot but the curtains were still closed and Dipper might just walk out of the room, hopefully.

Finally free, Dipper pulled away carefully and examined his companion spread out on the bed. He couldn't look for more than a moment as he felt shame wash over him; "What are you doing you moron! She's your friend and you start freaking foreplay while she sleeps?" he accused himself quietly, obviously upset with his actions. Wendy could hear this conversation at the end of the bed and decided to make a subtle move; the lumberjill grabbed a pillow and held it against herself. "Dipper," she murmured loud enough for him to hear, then proceeded to kiss the pillow. The youth watched in awe as she continued to kiss the object and giggle pressing it into her cleavage. He couldn't watch anymore and turned to leave her be, a stupid grin stuck on his face. As Wendy heard the door close she opened her eyes and smiled to herself; "The ball's in your count now dork, how're you gonna play it?" She stood up, stretched, and took a look at herself in the mirror. Embarrassment filled her from head to toe as she finally realised she wasn't wearing pants, again! "Oh girl, what is wrong with you?" she sighed before getting changed

When Wendy arrived into the kitchen for breakfast, Dipper wasn't there. Upon the table was a note written in bright pink marker from Mabel: "Hey love birds! I'm going to be out with C. & G. today, so breakfast in in the oven and still hot! Try not to have too much fun without me! Everyone's favourite Pines twin; Mabel." The red-head laughed at the note, knowing it was an open jab at Dipper. So she checked the oven, and as promised was a buffet of bacon, eggs and all the other parts to a legendary breakfast. "Damn Mabes, you really went all out," Wendy thought as she grabbed a plate and began to fill it. A minute later Dipper strolled in wearing a loose black shirt and jeans, his hair frizzy. "Hey Wendy, sleep well?" the youth asked while grabbing a plate of food. She looked at him with a smile, and with a sly grin responded; "Yep, I had the most wonderful dream, wasn't even sure if it was a dream it was so real." Dipper froze as his brain registered what was just said, and turn to look at Wendy, but she was looking at her food and enjoying it. "Eh, well then, I've got some research to do this morning, something that is probably dangerous and needs to be examined," announced the now distracted young man. Wendy looked up grinning; "Dangerous you say? Would there be a chance I could tag along?" the red-head began to get giddy in her seat and Dipper was comparing her to his sister after hearing about a boybands plan to visit Gravity Falls. Now was his chance to have a bit of fun and show off his skills as an adult, not the skinny kid who relied on a journal; "Though valuable it was," he mentally corrected himself. "Alright then, but are you sure you've got what it takes? No matter how tough things get, you won't quit on me?" Dipper inquired, staring into Wendy's eyes. The lumberjill was about to fall out of her seat in anticipation. What had Dipper planned? How insane was it? Could she really handle it?

Wendy stood still, a pout on her ruby blushing cheeks. She was wearing a white lab coat and goggles in the new lab Dipper made under the Mystery Shack, replacing Ford's old portal room. Dipper was still laughing at his friend knowing she expected super monster fights or dimensional travelling. "C'mon Wendy, lighten up! This is actually important, believe me. Here; take a look," he motioned her to where he was standing. The red-head sighed and paced over to him and had to admit that all of his equipment was impressive and almost other worldly. "Okay, jerkwad, since you're still laughing why don't you start explaining why I'm here?" she commented, then poked his sides.

Dipper cleared his throat and pointed to a black ring suspended in a vortex field; "Remember when I went for a walk last night? Well I found this ring out in the forest and figured I'd better study it before someone or something stumbles upon it and ends up doing serious damage." Wendy looked deep into the gem that warped around the black ring; it seemed to shift from solid to liquid repeatedly. "But I don't get why you're so concerned Dipper, I mean aside from the strange gem it just looks like a normal ring, nothing too weird," she pointed out. Then Dipper did something she'd never expected, her put his hands on her shoulders and looked her dead in the eye. The lumberjill blushed but it quickly faded when she saw the seriousness in his eyes. "Wendy…the ring was found beneath the remains of Bill Cipher." Wendy felt the blood drain from her face, remembering all too well the powers of the demon and what he'd done to her family during Weirdmageddon. Dipper let go of her and they both looked at the ring, a new sense of fear instilled in them. "I've taken multiple readings with the machines since we came down here, and I don't understand it at all. The readings say it's just a normal ring, but when you get closer to it the reading begin to spike; I believe that it's power can only be released once the ring is worn. But the problem is we don't know what it can do." Dipper typed away at a console and various scanners worked their magic, creating statistics on the next monitor over. Wendy was still fixated on the ring, curious but afraid; much like a young child seeing shadows in the night and imagining monsters lurking about. But as everyone in Gravity Falls knew all too well; monsters do exist, and their closer than you ever think they are. "Hey Wendy; if it turns out that the ring isn't apocalyptic in nature, would you lend me a hand with the test drive?" Dipper asked. Wendy turned with such speed her hair flicked her nose, and her emerald eyes sparkled in wonder; "Dude. That. Sounds. AWESOME!"

 **Well as promised, double chapter weekend! This was exhausting to finish for you guys, purely because I was nearly finished it when people came to me for help about all sorts of crap. Anyway, I'm ranting; hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and you can hopefully expect the next two up in a week. If I finish one earlier, I'll post it earlier!**

 **Shout-outs to Geekngroom and FullMetalKhoas, these guys keep me going with their awesome Wendips!**

 **And lastly: you guys may have noticed the reviewing system is on the fritz every now and then, but don't worry; I still get emails telling me of your review so if you want any answers to your questions I can PM you guys ASAP.**

 _As always; Stay Classy!_

 _TGGDSD._


	5. Chapter 5

_**Just a quick welcome to new readers! Hope you guys/gals are enjoying the story so far!**_

A Spark of Hope

Ch.5

Mabel and Candy had met up at the mall, and were on their way to Grenda's house. "Why so excited Mabel?" inquired the young woman. The brunette turned to her pal and put a finger on her lips; "Soon my dear Candy, soon!"

As they arrived at Grenda's, Mabel pushed the button on the voice box beside the large golden gate. "Who, may I enquire, has need of the Miss Grendinator at such an early hour?" came a very sophisticated voice from the box. "Morning Denis! It's Mabel, we're here to see Grenda!" she shouted happily into the machine. Denis pulled back from the receiver rubbing his ringing ear, then pulled a large lever that caused the entrance to part.

"Damn, Marius went all out on the new furnishings, eh Candy?" Mabel whistled in admiration. The place now looked nothing like the large bungalow that used to inhabit the grounds; rather the mansion that stood there even put the Northwest residence to shame. Candy shrugged; "It's nice, but nothing can ever make me think little of my home, it will always be my favourite."

The girls made their way up a long ornate path while humming birds greeted them with songs and large stags bowed in acknowledgement. "I still think the Disney-esk animals are creepy," Mabel whispered to her friend. Finally at the door, the pair gave a musical knock in good humour to announce their presence. It swung open and a man stood before them; around 5'10 in a tuxedo, only with a black pea-coat instead of a jacket. His face wore a short beard with specks of grey, and he smiled as the girls entered the house. "Good morning girls, big plans for today?" he inquired looking over his glasses. Mabel looked into his eyes and smiled back; "Yes Denis, very big plans! But don't worry, you won't have to replace a wall like last week," Mabel giggled at the memory. The butler sighed in relief and nodded; "Very good ma'am, I shall prepare refreshments right away, Miss Grenda is in her room as usual," and off he strolled into the kitchen.

Grenda sat at the end of her queen sized bed, scrolling through photos on her phone when Mabel burst in and tackled her off the mattress. Grenda was no lightweight but Mabel had always been unnaturally strong for her size. "Hey guys, you ready to go party on the yacht today?" asked the future Baroness. Candy shook her head; "I think Mabel has something else planned for us."

Grenda looked at her friend intrigued, so Mabel began to explain: "Sooo, you guys remember how my bro-bro had a massive crush on Wendy when we first arrived on Summer vacation? Well, Wendy is back from her time abroad studying and hanging out with us until after New Year's," the brunette went on, while her friends tried to piece together what she was getting at. "Anyway, we all went out for breakfast the other morning and Dipper offered to pay, and when he got up to do it I caught Wendy practically drooling over him! Then I asked if she like Dipper, and she got all caught up like Dipper used to when talking to her!"

Candy and Grenda had just put one and one together and were grinning like maniacs, they knew what was up and wanted in. "Now girls, now we really bring project: 'Spark of Hope,'" Mabel announced standing on the bed causing her friends to cheer. In that moment Denis walked through the door with a tray covered in different sweets, cakes and carbonated beverages; "Here you are ladies, may I be of further assistance?" he asked helpfully. "Just bring up the arts box and lots of paper D." Grenda ordered, and the butler left with a nod. "I think you're working the poor guy too hard, he's already showing signs of grey in his beard," Candy mentioned as they each picked away at the buffet of treats. Grenda nearly choked on her drink and looked at Candy with a shocked expression; "Really!? The guy is only twenty-five!" she whispered loudly making her friends pause to register that fact. Denis returned with a large case on his shoulder and several stacks of paper under his arm, then placed them neatly beside the window. "Hold on D." Grenda called out, then examined his face. A small gasp was made when she found the protruding grey hairs; "Denis, take the rest of the day off, we have things from here," she ordered. With a smile and a bow, the butler left to enjoy his day.

Back at the Mystery Shack in Dipper's lab, Wendy was taking notes on the ring's data. Occasionally she snuck a glance at her partner while he worked away in his element. "He's so hot when he's in deep thought," Wendy noted.

Dipper typed away at his terminal, nodding as the readings came up. He had noticed a pattern that was similar to the 'Infinadie' only reoccurring, not random. This implied the wearer had relative control over whatever powers the object. The young weirdologist glanced over his shoulder at Wendy, who was aligning stats for him. "Magician's assistant levels of beauty wrapped in a lab-coat, how lucky am I?" Dipper smirked to himself. He took a deep breath and let it out; "Wendy, it's time for a field test. Are you ready?" The red-head threw her notes on a nearby desk, stripped off her lab-coat and goggles and was waiting by the elevator to the surface before Dipper could even take the ring out of its stasis.

"Okay, here we go," Dipper muttered, and carefully took the ring into his hands. Like the night he found it, he could feel no trace of energy simply by holding it. After putting it in his pocket he briskly joined his friend and took the elevator out of the labs. "So do we have any idea what this thing can do?" Wendy asked only starting to ponder the consequences. "Not at all, that's why it must be tested, for science," Dipper confirmed. While this didn't exactly ease the red-head's thoughts, it did provide her with a reason to be with Dipper, and that's all she wanted right now.

The elevator door opened and the pair proceeded outside, where Dipper gave Wendy a handful of metal objects; "Wendy, these are short range stasis fields. Plant them around me in an octagon, in case there is an accident they will trigger and prevent damage outside the area." The lumberjill did as instructed, beginning to worry that this ring could just blow Dipper up for no reason; a possible cruel joke of an artefact that should have stayed beneath a dead demon. Dipper checked his watch and gave Wendy a smile, this would be interesting enough for his crush. Slowly he took the ring from his pocket and examined it once more; it's radiant gem morphing in the evening sunlight.

Taking a deep breath, the young man put the ring on. Suddenly the ground shook and birds flew away, while Wendy screamed for him to take it off. Quickly the world slowed to a quarter of normal time and the light of the sun dimmed. Dipper looked around in a panic as he examined his friend reaching for him in slow-motion, when the gem on the ring shone bright blue, blinding him briefly. Before him was an orb of glistening light, golden and warm. It hovered for a moment when a soft voice resonated from it; "I am Erin, guide to the prophets ring."

Dipper stood with his mouth wide open, awestruck and unable to form any words. The little light chuckled and spoke again; "Do not fret, Dipper Pines. I am not a malevolent being like the demon Bill Cipher; merely a living encyclopaedia to the use of the prophets ring, and general knowledge of the universe." Dipper looked back at the ring and noticed the gem was gone, instead was a thin line of light, much like a strand of silk that make its way towards Erin. "What exactly does the ring do?" he asked very intrigued. "Many things, Dipper Pines," Erin began, bobbing around him as if to size him up; "But the most basic way of explaining it is to say it allows the easy manipulation of fate." Again Dipper was confused. How could fate be a thing, if that were the case all beings like Bill Cipher would know from the start that they are bound by its laws due to their universal knowledge. The golden light flickered again before speaking; "I know what you are thinking, but you must understand that fate is much like a piece of cloth. It is made of many strands which are chosen by all creatures blessed with free will," Erin continued to inform Dipper; "Humans constantly alter fate and are not even aware of it. Take for example any event that occurred during your time in Gravity Falls: every single adventure had multiple ways of ending but was influenced by your choices, such is free will. But what you did not know is what those possibilities are! The prophets ring allows its wearer to touch the different threads of fate, so the wearer can consciously make a decision with a definite result. This is both the ring's blessing and curse," Erin concluded.

Dipper was beginning to understand; the ring is like a cheaters guide to life by knowingly altering future events to conclude a desired outcome. "But how is that a curse?" Dipper asked the guide once more. "Once fate has been weaved, it cannot be unraveled, Dipper Pines. This means your desired outcome may have factors you would never accept, but previous ring bearers have become blinded by the ring's power and destroyed themselves," the light explained. Dipper understood; no take backs.

"Where did you get your name Erin?" the youth asked the golden orb. "I shortened it from 'Eternal Ring Influencing Nature' for your convenience Dipper Pines," it explained glowing brighter. Dipper presumed that was its version of laughing or smiling. "Our time is short Dipper Pines; the rings energy is beginning to take its toll on you. You must make a decision quickly about which route you will take," Erin announced as her light started to fade. Dipper looked around and saw strands of fates floating around him, and in particular; the one wrapped around Wendy's neck. The young scientist reached out and grasped it, and suddenly visions of the tree behind them falling and crushing the red-head filled his mind. Dipper knew what he had to do: prevent this outcome at any cost. "I've made my decision Erin, what must I do?" he asked the nearly extinguished orb. "When the light returns, time will begin again, and that is when you must influence the tapestry of fate. We shall speak again soon," and with that Erin faded, and became the rings gem once more.

Rapidly light and colour returned to Dipper's surroundings and he made a mad dash for the lumberjill as she stood between the stasis rods earlier planted. Unable to move, she heard the sound of bark snapping behind her as a large redwood began to fall. Her emerald eyes full of fear knowing she couldn't move if it fell towards her. As quick as he could Dipper grabbed one of the stasis rods, disconnecting the signal, and dove at Wendy, pulling her out of the way seconds before the tree crashed to the ground. The pair lay panting on the ground and Dipper noticed a sliver of fate-line unwind from the red-head's neck, and fade as the effects of the ring dispersed. Immediately Dipper felt overwhelmed as the power of the relic took its toll on his body and mind. Wendy looked at him and began to tear up as he smiled at her, before falling unconscious. The lumberjill checked his pulse and laughed, tears streaming down her face; "He's okay, he's okay!" she confirmed and cradled his head as the sun set in the distance.

 **Phew! Another chapter down. Now I know this wasn't the most romantic chapter but it has opened a lot of paths for the characters to follow, so there! As always I'll try to get a second chapter out over the weekend but no promises, I've got a lot of work to do.**

 **As always, shoutouts to Geekngroom and FullMetalKhaos for being sound! And to the Guest who always leaves and interesting comment for each chapter.**

 **Finally I like to thank everyone who leaves reviews! Many of you have been really interested in the story, and as such I try to keep you guys/gals updated on how things are as much as possible.**

 **As always; Stay Classy!**

 **TGGDSD**


	6. Chapter 6

_**Apologies for only one chapter last weekend, I was super busy.**_

 _ **And someone asked me about the butler character from chapter five: FYI, I like to come up with memorable one-off characters, so you guys will meet a lot of them once, then never again. (Unless by popular demand)**_

A Spark of Hope

Ch.6

Dipper awoke on his bed, back inside the Mystery Shack. "Oh man, that was no joke," he grumbled, his head throbbing. As his eyes adjusted to the dark room, he noticed light creeping through the keyhole of his door. The youth checked his watch; "12:34!" he gasped. Dipper had been out for nearly six hours!

He pulled himself out of bed and fell to one knee, still recovering for the effects of the ring. Stabling himself, he opened the door and made his way towards the main room. He could hear voices from the kitchen, multiple voices. As he got closer he recognised them; Tambry, Mabel, Pacifica and of course Wendy. Just before he entered the room he heard Wendy burst into tears; causing him to stop just before the door.

"I don't know what to do!" the lumberjill cried between sobs; "He could have killed himself in front of me." Dipper could hear his sister hushing and comforting her, which only added to his regret. What had he been thinking! The ring should have been blasted into the void and never found by mortal hands, yet he used it as a way to impress the red-head. He felt his back burn as he was reminded about the many 'gifts' he had received by doing stupid things like this in the past. He slid down with his back to the wall, listening to the whimpers of the girl he cared so much about.

"Why doesn't someone else put on the ring? Maybe Dipper is just trapped inside his mind and needs to be woken from within," a voice suggested. Dipper perked up immediately, the voice of Tambry had just proposed a terrible idea.

"Yeah! I'll do it and show that idiot what he's missing; and if that doesn't work I'll kick his ass until he has to wake up," he heard Pacifica announce; "Mabel, toss me the ring."

"NO! DON'T TOUCH IT!" Dipper yelled from the doorway, his eyes wide with fear. If anyone else put on the ring they could accidently kill someone by altering fate, or kill themselves by not making a choice before their life-force is fully exhausted.

The four girls jumped back in surprise, completely caught off guard. Mabel however recovered quickly, walked up to Dipper and slapped him hard across the face; "For someone so smart, what you did was fucking stupid!" The others stood there and watched the scene unfold, but Dipper knew he deserved that. "I'm sorry Mabel, you can beat me up later but right now I have more important things," and he wobbled past her. He got confused glances from Pacifica and Tambry, probably over why he screamed at them to not touch the ring.

Wendy stared at him through a blur of tears, and tried to fix herself up. Dipper sat beside her and held her hand. "Wendy, I'm so, so sorry I scared you like that. I really didn't mean to do it, and I know you're upset with me. When you want to talk, just let me know, I'll drop everything for you. I promise that I'll never do that again; because I love you Wendy Corduroy," he said softly, and kissed her forehead before getting up and returning to his room. The lumberjill sat there, tears stopped dry, and full of emotion: relief, exhaustion, happiness, excitement and embarrassment all rolled together after Dipper's actions in front of the other girls.

"The hell, was all that about?" Tambry asked completely lost. Pacifica shrugged and looked to Mabel, only to find her with a jaw-dropped expression. "He did it. He finally did it!" the brunette muttered as her brain restarted. A large grin grew across her face as she looked at Wendy, and like a disease; the smile infected the whole house. The girls began to giggle at Wendy who was now flushed rather than upset. Wendy was smiling like a maniac since the moment Dipper left the room; and Dipper himself was sitting on his bed chuckling to himself as he realised what he had just said.

After about twenty minutes, Dipper heard Mabel wish Tambry and Pacifica goodnight. She told Wendy to head upstairs and use her bed tonight but the red-head refused. Wendy wanted answers just as much as she did. Dipper readied himself for a long chat, and it did help that he'd been asleep for long enough.

The door opened and Mabel walked through, somewhat disturbed; caught between smacking her brother again, and jumping to congratulations on his confession. Then Wendy entered like a shy child; trying to hide behind Mabel. She wasn't sure what to expect, Dipper never had the courage to speak his mind without over-thinking in the past.

Dipper stood up and gestured to the bed; "You may want to sit down. This is about to get very intense," he proposed. So the pair sat down following his pacing for a few moments, when he looked to Wendy; "When I passed out, what exactly did you do?" the young man asked.

"I checked your neck for a pulse, and when I found it I…I held your head, thanking god you were still breathing," Wendy began to tear up again, but quickly wiped her eyes and continued. "I was about to drag you inside when I saw you hand turning grey and sick. It was twitchy and gross and your veins were black, so pulled off the ring; then it turned itself back to normal really quickly, like water washing over it," the lumberjill finally finished.

Dipper nodded silently, now aware as to why he didn't die from the rings power; Wendy saved him, after he saved her. Dipper took a deep breath and exhaled; "Mabel, show me the ring." The brunette reached into her pocket carefully, after hearing about her twin's freak hand when he left the ring on, and held it out on her palm. Dipper took it off her and leaned against his desk. Spending the next hour trying to explain how the ring worked; about Erin inside the ring, how fate wasn't set but rather woven and most importantly how the ring could kill you if you weren't prepared or experienced.

"Based on what Erin told me; others have used the ring and been destroyed by their choices, not the rings drain on their life," Dipper explained. The girls sat back, minds full of information to process and many questions that needed answering. However, it was late, and staying up all night was a bad idea after recent events. "Damn Dipper, you've made my brain hurt," Mabel exclaimed while rubbing her temples. She stretched out on the bed and closed her eyes; "Nighty, night!"

Dipper sighed and looked at Wendy. The red-head smiled at him, knowing he was okay and the ring didn't mess with his mind. She had grips on the information, but as her companion stated; there was still many questions. Wendy stood up and looked him in the eyes, a mischievous grin on her face; "Well, shall we head to bed?" she asked raising an eyebrow. Dipper blushed and turned his gaze away; "Mabel is here, so I'll take the couch tonight," he motioned for the exit when arms wrapped around his waist.

"Remember what I told you; no one sleeps on the couch in their own house," the lumberjill whispered into Dipper's ear. "B-But that only leaves the single bed in the attic," the youth stuttered. The red-head gave him a light squeeze; "We'll just have to improvise then," she purred down his neck.

In seven minutes, the pair were lying together, alone in the attic. Dipper had his back to Wendy, but she was holding onto him tight, and nestled in between his shoulders. "You're mine now, and I will never let you forget it," she giggled. Dipper was glad that he was turned away, because his cheeks were flushed and locked in a goofy grin. The young man was elated that his long time love had decided to be with him. Although he was still caught off guard by the new, possessive Wendy. Dipper had to admit to himself; he really liked it.

Mabel lay out on the bed, eyes closed but fully awake. She tried to come to grips about the ring and its ability, but was conflicted. How could something that had the power to always bring about the best result, always have a user who was destroyed by his or her choices. "I'm sure Dipper will find out for us, or store it away safely if he can't," the brunette muttered trying to get some sleep.

A silent night passed over Gravity Falls, and in the dim light of a new moon, fog rolled through the forest. Deep in the dark undergrowth where Bill Cipher's statue lay, a shadowy figure stood. "And so the ring finds a new bearer. I wonder how this one will fall," the brooding voice said aloud, and his chuckle while soft, passed through the lands, and all creatures large and small recoiled from it, sensing the danger that the creator held.

Dipper woke with a start, not quite sure if what he'd seen was a dream or not. He gazed down beside him where his new girlfriend lay; she was wrapped up in her own long crimson strands; "Like a princess of the forest," he thought to himself, before kissing her cheek. In her sleep the lumberjill grabbed her man and pulled on him, like a child grabbing a giant teddy bear. Dipper was pulled down into an awkward position, but did his best to get some sleep, though he was once again wide awake.

The sun rose late in the morning, as it does in late Winter, and a chill rolled over the sleepy town. Wendy felt a chill run up her back from the draft that passed through the edges of the bedroom door, which caused her to groggily pull herself into consciousness. She caught sight of herself in the mirror across the room: she was lying on Dipper's chest while he slept, and had once again wiggled out of her pyjamas. "Oh for God's sake," the young woman thought; "Why is it so hard to stay in these things!" Then she noticed a much more interesting fact: the red-head had managed to roll up Dipper's night shirt in her sleep, and had been pressed against it the whole time.

Out of nowhere, Mabel opened the door with a camera in hand and flashed the lumberjill twice before she could blink. The brunette grinned mischievously, snapped a few more and bolted away as Wendy roared; "Mabel! I'll get you back if those go viral!" She felt herself rise and fall slowly as her boyfriend took a deep breath.

"Morning sunshine," he smiled, then quickly looked around confused. "Why am I half naked? Why are you half naked?" he asked beginning to panic. Wendy leaned into his ear and told him she was a very active dreamer. Dipper's face turned as red as his girlfriend's hair, and she laughed at him stuck beneath her. "Oh, and Mabel just took about a dozen photos of us," she added. Dipper went pale; the damage his sister could do to him with those photos, the blackmail and leverage she now had on him honestly scared him. But a warm sensation on his lips as Wendy kissed him, melted away his worry, along with his strength as he drowned in the bliss.

"I've waited six years for that, you know," he grinned; "Worth every second waiting." Now the lumberjill had her turn to blush. That was sweet, and caught her off guard since she was the aggressive one with all the dating experience. "We better get up before your sister has time to send those pictures to everyone she knows," Wendy stated and got up. Dipper stared as he watched the gorgeous young woman, adjust her underwear before changing clothes. "Hey perv! Did you like what you saw?" Wendy chuckled causing Dipper to snap out of his trance and prepare for the day ahead.

 **AAAGGGGHHHH! Okay, another one down. This was kind of a filler chapter, but I deemed it necessary for another character and a bit of fluff. I have this awesome idea for where this story can go, but balancing it with the Wendip is the trick!**

 **As usual, any questions or comments; just leave a review or PM! I'd ask that if you reference anything in the chapter, try not to release spoilers for other reviewers. Thanks!**

 **Shoutouts! Geekngroom and FullMetalKhaos! You guys have been so awesome! They two are pro quality writers, definitely check out their works: 'Worlds Apart' & 'Written in the Stars.' And of course all of you guys who have been with me from the start.**

 **I think that's all I have to say, although I may not have a double chapter weekend this week as well. (I have a large essay to write, and it would probably take a full days research beforehand) But I'll always try for you guys.**

 **As Always, Stay Classy!**

 **TGGDSD.**


	7. Chapter 7

_**Thanks to everyone who has stayed with me thus far!**_

A Spark of Hope

Ch.7

Mabel stood outside the front door of the Mystery Shack, glancing back inside to ensure she was out of earshot. "Hey girls, we're pushing the plans forward," the brunette explained into her phone. "Yeah, they're already going out. So skip steps one to six; we're going from seven. Okay see you later." Mabel was hyped, and why not! She loved playing matchmaker, but this was her twin brother, and this would be her greatest success. A soft Winter breeze blew past her and she decided it was time to go back inside.

What the brunette didn't expect was Wendy to be standing just inside the door, a smirk on her face. Mabel knew she'd been heard, but the great niece of Stan Pines knew how to haggle.

"Alright hot-locks, what's it gonna cost for your silence?" Mabel questioned like a nineteen-sixties mobster, her eyes squinty, lips pursed to one side, and her fists on her hips.

Wendy tapped her chin for a moment and looked around; "Two trays of hot brownies by Friday, and a heads up on any of your plans."

Mabel crossed her arms, mulled it over and sighing agreed; "Fine, but I won't give up all the goods, that ruins the fun." The girls shook hands and turned to the kitchen for breakfast.

Dipper sat inside reading an article in the newspaper. Rarely did he keep up to date with current events, so when the option came to have the paper delivered in the mornings, he grabbed the chance with both hands. "Thinking back on it, I must look like some recluse," the youth chuckled remembering how he was following Ford's footsteps in more ways than just research.

"Morning bro-bro, what'cha doing?" Mabel asked curiously as she made her way to the toaster. Wendy followed suit and grabbed some plates, interested in the conversation.

"Nothing too important, just a scientific article; something about submissions and interviews," Dipper commented as he put down the piece, and waited for the girls to sit down. "I'm going to do some more research today, but don't worry: I won't wear the ring," the scientist declared.

Wendy tensed up slightly, concern on her face. Dipper saw this and immediately held her hand in reassurance, causing her to ease up. Mabel however, gave him a stern look while she nibbled on her breakfast.

"Okay Dipper; I'm heading out with Wendy this morning. We trust you to not kill yourself, because if you do…" the brunette left the threat hang. Dipper knew that she could very well bring him back from the dead to enact her revenge, if she was to examine some of the darker powers of the forest. He nodded assuring her.

Wendy glanced at Mabel, confused to the plans she had just mentioned. The girl gave her a wink, confirming that it was a spontaneous plan. "Oh well, at least that some time to research my dork, it's been a while since we hung out, and Mabel definitely has vital info that he would never spill; personal info," Wendy began preparing a mental checklist for later. But for now, she enjoyed breakfast with the twins, scooting right up beside her boyfriend and giving him a kiss on the cheek. Mable pointed to her brother and laughed at his red cheeks.

After breakfast the girls threw on their coats while Dipper waved them off. "Only a week until Christmas Wen-wen, you excited?" the brunette quizzed from her fuzzy pink jacket.

"I don't know, honestly. I mean, when I was away it was just another time off. I never celebrated because I don't know what to do; what with Dad's apocalypse training every year," the red-head replied matter-of-factly. When she looked back at her friend, the lumberjill jumped back in surprise; Mabel had tears streaming down her face as she stared into Wendy's eyes.

"That's so sad Wendy," the girl sniffed, trying to hold back. "You really have no idea what you're missing. It's when you spend time with those who love you most and everything is calm," she continued, wiping her tears; "We're gonna make this the best Christmas you've ever had," Mabel concluded, starting to walk again.

Wendy was awestruck; how was Christmas any different from any other holiday? Was it really that magical compared to everything she'd seen in Gravity Falls? The red-head ran to catch up with her buddy, and began to ask about their plans for the day.

Meanwhile, back at the Mystery Shack; Dipper was running some tests, nothing too serious. He's been bothered by the dream he'd had last night, with the figure standing in the wood. "It was probably a bad dream, no sense in worrying about it," he convinced himself. Dipper had side projects running; after all, there was always something to do while waiting for results. "Let's see; vapour elements, plant mammals, mould people…" the scientist rattled off some ideas, then he remembered something. "Wendy hasn't been home since the first night; I should probably check up on the residence like I promised Dan," the youth thought, and placed his notes on a nearby desk. He proceeded to throw on his duster and exit the lab, when he heard a whisper drift by him. Turning quickly, the startled scientist looked around him. There was nothing, just the sound of scanners analysing data. A glint drew Dipper's eyes to the Prophet's Ring, the temptation to take it with him rather than leave it just sitting in the Shack.

Dipper shook his head; "No way man, you promised remember! And since when are you worried about things in the Shack; the lab's secure enough to stop the Manatours for god's sake," and with that, he left the lab, turning off the lights.

As light emitted from the machine probing the Prophet's Ring, that shadows coiled and folded as a figure rose from the darkness. "Well, well; not to easily tempted. What else is expected from the one who discovered the weakness of that demon Cipher?" the figure acknowledged, all be it unimpressed.

"He will fall just like the others, after all: fate is an unpredictable thing," the voice chuckled before the figure sunk into the darkness.

Mabel and Wendy were making their way to the Gravity Falls mall. Mabel had texted the girls while discussing the very basics of her plans to the red-head, because spilling all the plans for her matchmaking project would backfire, obviously.

"So we're going to need you to be honest when answering questions, okay?" the brunette declared; "Trust me. Things will go much smoother if you work with us." Mabel was in work mode; there were results she wanted, so she was going to get them.

The lumberjill agreed, and saw Tambry and Pacifica waiting around the corner. The group entered into the mall, where they took refuge in a café; 'Sip This.' An order of coffees later, the gang tucked themselves into a booth where Wendy was probed for information.

"Alright Wendy, spill!" Tambry spoke up first.

"What do you mean?" responded a confused Wendy.

"Ugh, about Dipper! Duh," her friend explained tasting her brew.

"Oh, well, we're going out now, I guess." This statement just delivered a bunch tired looks, implying she was being way too vague. "Fine, jeez. Yeah Dipper's my boyfriend; he's reliable, kind, smart, caring and just an awesome dude!" Wendy listed as her cheeks turned pink. Confessing was embarrassing but they weren't being gentle about it.

The three girls looked to one another, each nodding and shaking heads. Wendy was lost in the silent conversation, so she just took a pleasant mouthful of coffee and closed her eyes in bliss as the bitter mix sat on her tongue.

"So have you guys banged yet?" Pacifica asked nonchalantly.

Wendy spat her coffee back into her mug, though a little sprayed on everyone. The red-head's face was matching her hair. Being honest, she'd thought about it; but after she saw Dippers scars she felt more protective of her boyfriend.

Mabel and Pacifica giggled while Tambry grinned at her friend. Wendy knew about her a Robbie, there was no question; but the younger girls caught her off-guard. Since when did eighteen-year-old girls just openly talk about banging guys? Maybe she was the one who was different, being the womanly figure of her family from a young age.

"Alright, alright; enough of this," Mabel exclaimed as she produced a small notebook from her jacket. "Let's get down to planning. Wendy, just tell us your impression of the ideas from 'Definitely Do' to 'Never Ever.'"

Back out in the woods, Dipper had made his way to the Corduroy cabin. The door was still locked firmly after Wendy's departure a few days ago. Memories of seeing her again for the first time in years brought a grin to his face; "And now we're going out."

After making sure everything was ship shape, the youth turned and left; but during his return he recalled his dream of the figure in the forest. A shiver ran down his spine, and he began to debate with himself; "It was just a dream. No it wasn't! How do you know? When is anything normal in Gravity Falls? Okay fair, but that doesn't mean anything! It means everything; you hadn't had a day off in the last two years until Wendy returned!"

Eventually he came to a conclusion; "I'll just go to the grove and look around." Dipper didn't particularly like the place, it was obviously unnatural, but he needed closure or else he would go crazy, figuratively.

The grove was cold; much colder than normal, even for late Winter. Dipper made his way down into the centre where Cipher's statue stood, carefully over roots and stones. As the scientist approached the site, fear grasped his heart: Bill Cipher's statue was severely damage; cracked and chipped, like even a gust of wind would turn it to dust.

"Whatever _thing_ did this, it's bad, really bad!" Dipper began to panic. He started to run back towards the Mystery Shack, he needed answers fast; and the only way to know for sure was to ask Erin. "Not even the harsh nature over that last six years, or space age technology from my lab and the alien ship could leave a mark on that demon's grave! Whatever did that was incredibly powerful and dangerous," Dipper's mind raced, trying to use logic to calm down, but only brought further panic with the truth of the matter.

"So that's how it's going down!" Mabel announced, and the others nodded in agreement. Wendy just sat still, taken aback by the creative powers of her younger friend. An entire formula devised to create the most amazing holiday for her over the next few weeks, down to what underwear she should wear on different dates.

"Well, I gotta run. Me and Robbie are going to a movie later and I have to get ready," Tambry announced. She hugged Wendy and wished her luck before leaving.

"I should probably go too, there's a meeting with my dad's company, and I have to fill in for him today," Pacifica grumbled. She too left after hugs and best wishes.

"Well, we should probably go meet up with bro-bro. He's probably lonely without his new girlfriend to cuddle," the brunette giggled as she threw on her coat. The red-head gave her pal a light punch on the arm, and they left for home. Wendy wondered if Dipper had similar plan to treat her while she was back in Gravity Falls. What she wasn't expecting was her new boyfriend panicking in his laboratory preparing to stop whatever evil creature was coming to the sleepy town. Something that could bring about an event worse than anything Bill Cipher could ever had.

As Dipper looked at the Prophet's Ring, cold sweat stuck to his skin. He would wait until the girls were home before putting it back on; time was of the essence, but dying wouldn't help anyone.

* * *

 **Another one down, and as you can guess the story has a serious arc now!**

 **Sorry about not doing double chapter weekend for a while; its been really heavy going the last two weeks, but I should be good by next week.**

 **Special Thanks to Geekngroom and FullMetalKhaos, you guys are the best. Check out their Wendips (they're awesome!)**

 **Also thanks to everyone who leaves a review/follows/favorites - you guys keep me going when things get tough, and will have your names listed at the end of the final chapter.**

 **I think that's about it. If anyone's got anything they'd like to say; review or PM.**

 **And as always, Stay Classy!**

 **TGGDSD.**


	8. Chapter 8

A Spark of Hope

Ch.8

Wendy and Mabel walked into the Mystery Shack looking for their favourite nerd, but there was no sign of Dipper anywhere.

"Dipper!? We're back, you home?" the older of the twins called out.

"Maybe he's in the lab working?" Wendy suggested surveying the kitchen for signs of human presence.

"Trying to get rid of all the bachelor items, hehe," the brunette chuckled, her dirty mind trying to embarrass her brother who wasn't even within earshot. "I'll get started on an early dinner; bro-bro probs hasn't eaten since breakfast," and so she made for the cooking utensils.

Wendy shook her head with smile, Mabel was crazy; but good crazy. She missed her nearly as much as Dipper over the years, and it was nice to just hang out like old times. The red-head descended the old staircase leading to the laboratory elevator, and began the drop to the third floor.

As the door opened into Dipper's second home, the lumberjill strained her eyes looking for a light switch. "Dork mustn't be home yet," she thought to herself. A sudden burst of bright light blinded the young woman causing her fall back covering her eyes.

"Who's there!? Speak now or you'll be hot ashes in three seconds! One, two-" the voice yelled out.

"Wendy! It's Wendy Corduroy!" she screamed into the light. Immediately the light dimmed and the normal overheads switched on. Dipper stood before her with a weapon in one hand and a switch in the other, tears streaming down his face. "Dude what _the fuck_ are you doing!?" Wendy yelled out standing up to meet him.

The young man dropped to his knees shaking, and stuttered out a sentence which his girlfriend barely heard; "It's coming; Bill was nothing to it, a toy, and now it's coming or it could already be here." The red-head knelt beside her love, placing a hand on his, and looked into his eyes: fear, pouring from his very soul. Dipper had ridden out Weirdmageddon without any long-term damage; Wendy knew whatever he was trying to warn her about was unbelievably dangerous.

"Dipper, what's the button for?" the red-head asked softly pointing to the object in his left hand.

"Bomb," he stammered out, "To bury it all, it can't have the ring."

Wendy focused on the detonator, and gently took it from her boyfriend. She placed it on a nearby desk and did the same with the strange weapon he'd pointed at her. "C'mon Dipper, let's get you out of here so you can explain what's really going on," she spoke softly before half carrying Dipper to the elevator.

Back up in the kitchen Mabel was boiling pasta on the stove, and catching up on some light reading. As the brunette skipped through the pages of the magazine, she thought of her plans for her favourite couple, grinning at the fantasies of the future.

"Mabel! Get some water and a blanket, now!" Wendy's voice boomed into the room. Without comment the matchmaker dashed to the next room and grabbed a woollen cover from the sofa, before returning to the kitchen to prepare the drink.

The lumberjill stumbled into the room with her partner against one shoulder, helping him onto the seat by the table. Mabel had concern painted across her face as she threw her friend the blanket, and watched Wendy wrap her brother up. He was still shaking but no longer panicking, and sat quietly with Wendy beside him. Mabel placed the glass in front of him, and watched him sip it slowly.

"So…anyone what to explain?" the brunette posed the question to the pair opposite her.

Wendy gave Dipper's hand a light squeeze. The young man took a deep breath and began his explanation.

"Something is coming to Gravity Falls, or it could already be here. An ancient power, far older than Bill, and its intentions don't look good." The girls looked on, following each word as it came.

"I still don't get all the drama here guys," Mabel announced with her arms folded.

"Mabel, your brother has this place rigged to blow! When I went down to get him he was armed are ready to blow himself up to stop this _thing,"_ the red-head said with a tone telling her friend to cool it! Mabel sat up straight shock evident in her eyes.

"It broke Bill's statue; nothing of this dimension has been able to even chip that monster and now something has entirely broken it," he paused for a moment before continuing; "I've been having dreams, nightmares; of this figure in the shadows. It laughs and fades out of sight: first in the woods, then outside Wendy's house, and I even thought it was in the labs while I was working. I need to ask Erin about it, she's the only one who'd know what I can do to stop it."

Wendy glanced at Mabel who stared down at the table, she'd finally registered the direness of the circumstances. But the lumberjill hated the idea of Dipper putting on that accursed ring again, after the results of last time.

"Wendy, I know what you're thinking; but it's the quickest way and we don't have a lot of time if I'm correct," Dipper said, no longer shaking. "Mabel, I'm sorry for scaring you but please understand, if we fail to stop this: everything goes. There will be no twisted universe like what Bill wanted; everything could be destroyed." She just nodded silently, her plans to create a lovey-dovey few weeks had sunk.

"Well then, let's go save the world again, I guess," the silly brunette grinned trying to make the best of a desperate situation.

After a few minutes, Dipper had collected himself and lead the way back down into the labs. He carefully reached for a device on his desk; "A void cube, keeps the ring suspended in a temporal plain until opened."

Wendy watched her boyfriend carefully take the ring out of the sci-fy box before turning to her; "Wendy, keep count. No more than five seconds, okay?" he explained. "Mabel, you yank of the ring when Wendy says." She nodded and rolled up her sleeves.

Dipper closed his eyes and prepared himself to enter the realm once more. Her gave Mabel a nod, then looked to his red-headed heath throb, and gave a brave smile; "Anything to save you, above all else," he thought, then pushed the relic down his finger.

Just like last time, the world slowed around him, and the light drained as the golden orb emerged from the ring. He watched as the threads of reality and possibility unraveled around him: 'Choice' at his fingertips.

"Welcome back Dipper Pines. Nice to see you recovered from the first visit," the voice emerged from the floating light.

"Erin, I don't have much time so I need answers fast!" Dipper rushed. "Do you know anything about the strange dreams I've been having?"

The light flickered dim and the voice began again: "You are seeing him. The darkness manifested. He goes by many names of which you know: Apophis, Lotan, Satan. But his original name is 'Chaos.' He is a primal force, engaged in a battle with existence since before everything."

Dipper looked quickly to Wendy, seeing her lowering her third finger in slow motion, before pushing further into Erin's information; "Yes but then if he's a threat how do we deal with him?"

"I cannot say," Erin explained; "He isn't bound by the laws of existence since he helped create it. But he has always used the ring as a way of making humans create chaos on his behalf. Indirect world destruction; he starts small with sentient beings and plans to eliminate all life everywhere over time. The only force that stands against him is the primal force of 'Order' created from Chaos. They have battled forever but when existence was created it did create a limited space, filled with everything you know, but slowly Chaos creeps in and existence is fading."

Dipper's head spun at this information, but managed to piece together a beginning of a plan: find the force of 'Order' and go from there. He saw that Wendy's last finger was nearly down, and knew it was time to leave, the sooner the better. As her reached to take off the ring, Erin spoke again.

"A final warning til next we talk, Dipper Pines. Chaos will try to corrupt you like the other ring bearers. He will send his first pawn soon. You could say she's my evil twin: in the corruption of the ring, Order created me as a guide to help the goodness of the bearers. Yet Chaos at the same time took a human form and created 'Eris' a demon of destruction."

Dipper knew the name from ancient Greek depictions; the goddess of strife and discord. The young scientist felt a rush of heat in his blood; Wendy had reached five, and Mabel was pulling off the ring. All the light and sound hit him at once and he fell on his hands and knees gasping. Wendy rushed over while his sister rubbed his back.

"I'm okay, I'm okay," he coughed out; "Its bad guys, but not hopeless. There is a chance we can stop him but I need time."

After getting to his feet, Dipper took back the ring from his sister and placed in back in its box, then placed it in the breast pocket of his coat. He couldn't leave it unguarded anymore.

"Well? What's the plan, or are we boned?" the lumberjill asked, content with her boyfriend's health after round two with the ring.

"A plan thankfully, but first we need to gather our friends. I need to warn you all about what's to come," Dipper explained as he drifted into deep thought. So that's what the girls did, and within the hour everyone was assembled: Candy and Grenda, Tambry and Robbie, Pacifica and even Gideon Gleeful.

Wendy looked at everyone in the room, and thought of how everyone had matured while she was away. Even Gideon seemed to be a reliable person, she watched him whispering to Dipper before they got down to business, seemingly discussing other supernatural matters. A bell rang softly and all turned to Mabel who cleared her throat before her announcement: "Ahem, well as you all know you've been gathered her because my brother has got caught up in another crazy doomsday prophesy thing."

Each looked to one another in concern before Dipper stood up to explain. The scientist reached into his pocket and pulled out the Prophets Ring. Every eye locked on, confused as the what it was. Dipper began explaining everything from the start; how he'd found the ring, how Cipher's statue was mangled, and what power the ring held. The friends looked astounded at the artifact placed in the centre of the table, some fascinated by it and other fearing the events it could cause in the wrong hands. A murmur began between the group but was quickly cut short when Dipper spoke again. He talked of what Erin had told him in the ring, and of the ancient being Chaos. This was when he revealed his plans to everyone.

"We need to find a way to contact the other ancient: Order. If Order and Chaos have been fighting for ever, there must be a way to push back the darkness that has come to Gravity Falls," the youth announced, then sat back into his chair.

Everyone nodded, discussing the terms and seemed that it was the best course of action; but then Gideon spoke out, raising a question: "You said that the darkness was already here in town, but what exactly' s coming, if you mind my asking?"

Dipper looked to each of his friends and told them of 'Eris' who was sent by Chaos as a first advance. He walked over to the bookshelf in the next room and returned with a text on mythology; inside an image of the Eris goddess of strife and discord.

"This is why I really called you all here, because things are about to get very messy if we aren't prepared to defend ourselves from Chaos' trickery and corruption," Dipper let the sentence hang for a moment as everyone realised that anyone could be a target, and anyone could try and corrupt them.

Just outside the Mystery Shack, only a stone's throw away from the clearing, sat a young woman on a high branch. Her hair was blood red with streaks of black, or vice versa, one couldn't tell. She wore a navy gown ornate with golden trimmings, draping loosely over her bewitching figure, and her eyes locked on the old building: bright orange, like a forest fire devouring trees on a moonless night.

"It's time my dear. Do what I made you to do," came a deep voice from the shadows.

The woman grinned maniacally, like how a hyena would grin at a sick calf, ready to begin her attack on the worthless mortals the dare resist her master. Two creature materialized beside her, both created of shadow and smoke; one shaped like a woman, and the other a twisted beast resembling a chimera.

The creatures hummed like quiet thunder as their creator rose above the trees, and with a powerful voice sang out for Dipper and the others to hear: "When Gravity Falls and Earth becomes sky, fear the beast with just one eye. Should he fall, forgotten past, then the master comes at last. Hearts will break, trust will crack, I will soon begin, attack. Now I go, now my turn, I am Eris, your minds will burn."

* * *

 **Woo! Even I'm getting pumped about where this is going! But don't worry, there will still be Wendip.**

 **Sorry about the late release, but I was really sick last week and barely managed to make progress on this story. Also things may slow down in a few weeks during exam times but hey, that's life!**

 **Shoutouts: Greekngroom and FullMetalKhaos, my benefactors for use of a better term, you guys are the best. WilburTheWerewolf, for his interesting commentary. Fereality, another awesome person who gave me brain food to write cooler chapters and other stories after this. Pittbuck for always leaving a review. Lastly the Guest who has been with SoH from the start, thanks!**

 **Just to let everyone know, I'll probably spend all of Halloween typing up the next chapter, so don't be too surprised if you get another one soon!**

 **As usual, if you have anything you want addressed just leave a review or send me a PM.**

 **AND, as always; Stay Classy!**

 **TGGDSD.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry for the late release; this have been _stressful_ the last few days.**

A Spark of Hope

Ch.9

Mabel jumped out of her seat while the terrifying laughter faded away. Robbie stood up facing the window with his hand out in front of Tambry protectively, while Pacifica looked at Gideon who was pulling out various objects of supernatural protection; amulets, scrolls and rocks of various minerals.

"Everyone! Please, calm yourselves. Any underling of Chaos will seek to disrupt and confuse us," Dipper announced to the group. He looked to his startled sister; "Mabel there is a ball of unicorn hair in the study, you know what to do."

The brunette steeled herself and bolted for the room, leaving her friends confused as to the plans Dipper had.

"Dipper what do we need to do?" Wendy asked, pulling herself up and readying her traditional hatchet. The red-head had great trust in her boyfriend, but after recent events, it couldn't hurt to keep an eye on him.

"Eh, yeah! I'd like to know what's going on as well, y'know since there's a freaking demon trying to get in and do god knows what!" Pacifica yelled, trying to mask her fear with anger.

Gideon walked over to the blonde and knelt beside her before pulling out a sky-blue amulet; "This'll keep you safe hon, but I wouldn't test it lightly. Try not to get attacked, if you can," the snowy hair youth joked. "And of course, one for both you two as well," he announced, beckoning Candy and Grenda over to receive their charms.

Mabel returned to the group in a flash with the ball of unicorn hair. After her last run in with the unicorns, Mabel never wanted anything to do with them, but herself and Dipper walked away with enough hair for the next ten Weirdmageddons! With lightning precision, the brunette started weaving headbands and bracelets for the gang. First herself, then Tambry and Wendy since they didn't have amulets. Just as Mabel started the next band the room grew dark, and loud whispers of an unknown language hissed around the room then grew silent.

"Dipper what do we do?" the lumberjill whispered, tightening her grip on her weapon.

In that second the floor below Robbie burst open sending him flying across the room, slamming hard against the wall. Out of the hole rose the first of the creatures, the monstrous amalgamation or corrupted shadow.

"Run! We'll have to improvise!" Dipper yelled, motioning for everyone to scatter.

Wendy ran towards the creature and swung low at its legs, but the blade just passed through the smoky limb. The monster roared like thunder, and swung its arm at the red-head. Wendy rolled forwards to dodge, and made a dash for Tambry, who was holding Robbie's limp body and crying.

"C'mon Tambry, we gotta move now!" Wendy yelled grabbing her friend. With great reluctance, she left Robbie in the corner and ran, fear and misery turning to anger. She'd get that monster back for what it did. The creature, now confused with the separation of the humans roared again and began marching towards one of the other rooms, leaving large claw prints burnt into the floor as it went.

Gideon, Candy and Grenda were hiding down by Stan's old office. Everyone seemed calm, this was nothing new to the active super-naturalists.

"Anything we can use to fight around?" Grenda asked, hoping to join a brawl soon.

"I've only got my usual items, nothing heavy, that'd be Dippers speciality," Gideon shrugged holding a few vials between his fingers. "Try to find him, I'm heading back to check on that guy who got rag-dolled and see if he is okay."

With that, the snowy-haired youth crept back the way he came, listening for the creature that now roamed the house hunting for them. Glancing into the room he approached Robbie's body, knowing the coast was clear. A quick examination showed a few broken ribs, but nothing life threatening.

"You'll be fine with a bit of help later, but for now; let's get you somewhere safer," Gideon spoke to the unconscious man, before dragging him carefully away.

Meanwhile Dipper made his way quickly to the lab, Pacifica close at his heels.

"What the hell was that!?" the blonde screamed silently peaking around the corner while the elevator opened.

"I don't know, probably one of Eris' subordinates. It appears to be a combination of shadows and smoke, probably brought to life from some form of chaotic energy," the weirdologist theorised stepping into the mechanism. Pacifica followed swiftly, as not to be left alone.

"Perhaps the lux-condenser, or the refractrion…" Dipper muttered, trying to decide what to use on the shade searching the house. "Whatever; one of these should do something. I hope," he announced grabbing various gadgets and weapons, and tossing a few to his anxious follower.

"Do you always leave dangerous weapons just lying around the lab?" Pacifica asked with a raised eyebrow.

Dipper thought for a moment before replying: "Yes. There's no point in hiding them because Mabel always finds a way to get at them. And I was about to blow this place up earlier so… anyway, just take these!" and he tossed her some small objects.

The blonde just looked on stunned at the reckless youth. How could he so easily switch personality from an insane wreck to the most capable person to ever deal with the supernatural?

"Alright, let's go burn some shadows. I hope, since if it doesn't; back to running," he smiled turning on his weapons power source.

Back upstairs, Wendy still clutched to Tambry's arm desperately dragging her away from the sounds of rage. The red-head knew her friend would run back to Robbie at any chance, and that was a no go! The pair rounded the corner only to run into Candy and Grenda, both armed with tools from Soos' old supply closet.

"Shhh, its close by, but can't seem to figure out how to get to us," Candy informed. This gave Wendy a moment to breath, her heart still pounding from the adrenaline rush. Tambry just sat against the wall with her knees against her chest, and Grenda rubbed her back softly.

"Where are the others?" the lumberjill asker after a few breaths.

"We saw Dipper run for the front of the Shack, and Pacifica was following him. Gideon went back to the central room to check if Robbie was okay," Grenda whispered, listening to the heavy steps of the monster's pacing.

"What about me?" came a voice from behind Wendy. She turned around fast with her weapon raised, and the young southern-accented boy leapt back his hands up: "Hey, hey, hey! Easy, it's me!"

"God damn it Gideon, don't sneak up on people," Wendy grumbled, lowering her hatchet.

"Is Robbie okay!?" Tambry leapt to her feet and rushed to the young man, hoping for good news. But the young man took another step back and looked to the ground. Tambry froze; "No, no way."

Gideon sighed; "I'm so sorry, there was nothing I could do. It crushed the life right out of him in front of me."

Everyone looked shocked, they saw him get tossed around, but to think the shade would execute him was gut-wrenching. Tambry began to sob and the girls all hugged her tight in comfort, only Gideon stood to the side, not looking at anyone.

Mabel was hiding up in her old room, gathering any equipment she could. The brunette had already put on urban camouflage and face paints. She was armed with her signature grappling hook and some small gadgets her twin gave her for emergencies.

"Nobody messes with the Pines family, not even God!" she announced, getting way too hyped for her own good. Taking out an emergency ration of Smile-Dip, the young woman down the treat in one go and combat rolled out of the room.

Dipper and Pacifica rode the elevator up, both in high-tech armour and various weapons armed and ready. The only sound was the music playing quietly from a speaker hummed as the pair ascended. The plan was to regroup with the others and arm to take care of the monster, but Dipper was still concerned since Eris hadn't shown herself yet. She was probably watching confidant that her minion could take care of them all, and he aimed to prove her wrong.

Once the elevator opened it was go time and the pair began moving through the house. Pacifica mentioned that she saw some of the group head towards the back of the Shack. Unfortunately, when they arrived, it was a sorry sight; Tambry in tears, the girls comforting and Gideon sitting quietly against the wall, staring at his hands.

"What happened?" Dipper asked kneeling down beside the girls.

Wendy just gave him a sad look and informed him of Robbie's current state. Dipper had never really been fond of the gothic man, even after he cleaned himself up, and stayed together with Tambry; but no one deserved that fate.

"That's it, everybody grab a weapon. We're gonna make this thing wish it had never came to our dimension," the weirdologist announced, anger building in his soul. In less than a minute everyone was armed with a sci-fy blaster and small balls of technology that Dipper explained to be the equivalent of a flashbang. A quick head count later and they were ready to move out; until Grenda noticed that the snow-haired youth was gone again.

"Did anyone see Gideon leave?" she asked confused.

"No actually, I was about to give him a weapon but then he was gone," Dipper recalled scratching his head; "I'm sure he's okay, he's got his own relics and equipment."

That was when the shade that attacked them had searched long enough. The beast roared and ploughed its way through the wall and came face to face with the group.

"YOU MOTHER FU-" Tambry screamed as Candy activated the flashbangs. When the light subsided, everyone pointed their weapon at the shade. The beams of energy burned through the monster creating holes like swiss cheese. But as quickly as the smoky limbs could be severed and pierced, they began to reform. The creature roared louder than ever and horrific tendrils erupted from its back waving frantically causing the gang to jump back.

The beast rose back to its full height grunting and shuddering in anger as it reformed itself to one hundred percent. That's when Dipper saw it; a small red glowing orb below the neck of the monster.

"Everyone! Aim just below its neck, I think its power source it located there," and he fired a beam revealing the glowing object to all. The others didn't need encouragement and opened fire. Ray after ray burned through the shadow and it screamed in pain as wisps of smoke began to evaporate off its hulking form. As it fell, unable to support itself, it whimpered like wounded animal, no longer trying to fight back. Dipper ceased fire and so did the others.

"Perhaps there is a way we can contain it?" Dipper proposed pulling out a small pistol; "This device will create a net of electricity, hopefully subduing the creature for further study."

"I don't know Dipper; this thing is a piece of Chaos; doesn't that mean it only wants to destroy?" Wendy asked holding hatchet out for Dipper to take.

In that moment, the shade erupted once more knocking back Wendy, Pacifica, Candy and Grenda as it lunged for their leader. Dipper braced himself and everyone heard a horrific shout. When the young man opened his eyes, he saw Tambry holding the hatchet buried in the monster's core. The beast twitched and writhed vigorously before roaring and bursting into smoke and fire.

Tambry was panting heavily and Dipper reached for the hatchet. Her grip was locked in rage but the weirdologist managed to pry it out of her hands before Wendy ran over to comfort her.

The young woman threw off her unicorn hair bracelet and tucked her knees back to her chest once more. The other girls sighed and took their relics, wondering if such objects could work on these new monsters of Chaos. That was when Gideon returned panting, his clothes torn and some small cuts on his flesh.

"There's another one; different from the violent one. We have to be careful," he gasped for air before continuing; "Hey, where are all your protective charms?"

Tambry looked up, detest in her voice: "They didn't help Robbie, so what's the point!?"

That was when Pacifica frowned and spoke out; "But Robbie didn't take a charm, he was looking out the window up until the creature showed up."

Light laughing rung through the corridor, and everyone looked to Gideon who no longer looked beat up and tired; "Well, that just makes my job easier now!"

The youth laughed as his arms became shadowy claws that stretched out and smashed Dipper through the next wall. Wendy gasped and grabbed her hatchet off the ground and aimed for it at the second shade, who dodged it easily. The others opened fire, hoping to weaken it, but this shade was different; more agile and cunning. It passed Wendy and Pacifica with immeasurable speed and belted Grenda to the floor. Candy jumped in to save her friend, only to be tossed aside into Tambry, knocking them both unconscious. The monster grabbed Pacifica from behind and threw her the same direction as Dipper.

Wendy watched her body fly through the hole just as Dipper started to climb back through, causing him to get sent right back into the room. Wendy could only watch as the shade approached, its very being hissing in laughter as it prepared to strike her down.

Out of nowhere a grappling hook whizzed past Wendy taking the head off the monster, and Mabel jumped out. The brunette ducked under the panicking claws, and armed the small orbs in her other hand. Quickly the artistic young woman stuck a fistful of the gadgets down the shadowy neck-hole, before leaping back and shielding Wendy's eyes. Not a moment later did the shade erupt into fiery ball of light and smoke, its core obliterated into dust. Mabel just turned and raised he hand like a claw before dramatically announcing; "Death!"

Eris watched on, her fists clenched in rage at the sight of her minions being destroyed by pathetic mortals; "That's it. My turn," and in a flash of purple fire she was gone.

* * *

 **Okay, slightly longer chapter than usual as an apology for a Sunday release. I have to ask if you guys and girls want me to keep posting 2000ish word chapter a week, or would you rather wait for longer later ones? Just curious!**

 **Okay Shoutouts: Geekngroom and FullMetalKhaos, super supportive as always! Warprince2000, D0TBLACK and Fereality keeping cool. Pittbuck, WilburTheWerewolf and Guest; thanks for always leaving a review.**

 **And finally, since a big part of my writing happens while I listen to music, here'a a list of songs I use for inspiration: All credit to the creators: The Peggy Suave (Electro Swing) Collection, Looking like this - Lyre le Temp, and Miss Muffets Pantaloons.**

 **Hope you all enjoy my weird tastes!**

 **As always, Stay Classy!**

 **TGGDSD.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Sorry about the late release, this week has been really intense on me and I barely had enough energy to finish my work, never mind finish this chapter.**

A Spark of Hope

Ch.10

As the group of friends picked themselves up after the near fatal encounter with Eris' shades, Mabel was jogging in place, shadow-boxing, fully charged on Smile-Dip and adrenaline. Dipper watched Grenda rise, sore but okay, trying to wake up Candy and Tambry. Wendy was recovering from the shock of her friend's actions; like a character from the arcade game: Fight Fighters, she had expertly finished off her opponent, with a victory stance and all. That was when she remembered her boyfriend who'd taken two heavy hits during the fight.

The red-head ran to the hole in the wall, looking for Dipper and Pacifica. In front of her on the floor was quite a sight; her boyfriend lay flat on his back unmoving with Pacifica on top of him, her chest pressed against his face.

"Ahem, enjoying yourself dork?" the lumberjill accused, her arms folded and fists closed.

Dipper's voice muffled out from under the blonde; "Help! The armour is out of charge and I can't get her off!"

As Wendy approached she saw that he was telling the truth; the armour was completely locked stiff. With all her strength Wendy pushed Pacifica's heavy suit off Dipper, revealing his toothy grin; "Light of my life!"

"That's right mister, keep the complements comin' unless you want blondie over there to know you we motorboating her while unconscious!" Wendy laughed, causing her boyfriend to turn scarlet.

The young man averted his gaze as his favourite girl leaned over him and pressed the blinking button on the neck of his armour, causing it to pop open, releasing him. Dipper stood up and brushed himself off, all the armour did was slow him down and cause a hole in the wall; but at least he was conscious. He watched as Wendy rolled over Pacifica and opened her armour, before tapping her cheeks until the blonde awoke.

"Hey everyone; wow, I thought it sounded bad," a voice came through the hole, as Gideon walked by supporting Robbie as he went.

"Tambry!" Robbie called, stumbling for the young woman. He held her head carefully, searching for any serious wounds.

"It's okay, she was just heavily winded when the shade threw Candy at her," Mabel explained as she helped Grenda up after the heavy blow the strong woman had braced. "Hey Gid, do you have anything help in that bag of yours?" Grenda coughed, holding her back like an eighty-year-old.

The youth pulled out several vials from his satchel; "Here, these ones should act fast," he said handing them out to the gang. "Same stuff that helped Robbie get back on his feet."

Mabel took one vial and gently poured it into Candy's mouth, and Robbie did the same with Tambry. In but a few seconds the two girls were awake and complaining about splitting headaches.

"Hey Gideon, what's in these vials?" Dipper asked, examining the strange liquid before Wendy took it off him to treat Pacifica.

"Porcupede venom! Distilled of course." Dipper just stared at him. The scientist knew that the creature had more than nasty quills and mandibles, but due to always running from them he'd never really gotten close enough for samples. He made a mental note to learn some tricks from the youth before he left town again.

As each member of the gang got their second wind; Dipper filled Gideon and Robbie in on the events that had just passed. Robbie was relieved that the shades were gone but Gideon knew that Eris was the problem now.

"Okay everyone, come together," Dipper called out to the rest of the gang. As they lined up, fresh gadgets were distributed and minor wounds patched. "Alright everyone, now we have to deal with the boss, and assuming worst case scenario: she's pissed that we're still alive. So, the plan this time around is to catch her off-guard, stun her then disable her using these," the scientist announced holding what looked like a toy jack in his hand. "Everyone take two and keep them in different pockets, cause once they get close together…" sparks few when he dropped two on the floor and they linked with electrical tethers.

"Like a stun-gun to the face," Mabel smiled grabbing at the air, trying to get her hands on the new 'toys' her brother had.

"For the love of God; don't activate them in your pockets or its game over," Dipper sighed, giving in and distributing them to his friends. "Now then, let's get to it!"

Across the crippled house, each member waited with a buddy, close to another group for support. Close to the walls as to avoid another incident like Robbie, everyone listened and watched for any sign of Eris.

Wendy was paired with Dipper, and nobody argued with that, since she could handle things as well as he could. The lumberjill heard a soft hissing sound and tapped her boyfriend's shoulder. Dipper nodded and waved to Gideon and Candy, signalling readiness. Wendy watched as a small wisp of fire floated into the room from the hole the first shade created upon entry. It was purple and black, and even looked far hotter than normal fire. A bright flash blinded herself and Dipper, and when their vision restored; a horror stood where the wisp was.

A seven-foot tall woman in black spiked armour twisted her neck and shoulders causing cracking sounds to splinter through the halls. The gauntlets had pointed blades that could cleave iron, her breast-plate could stop a tank shell and her boots emitted the same coloured fired as the wisp. But all this was nothing with the demon grew long hair of dark purple fire and her mouth split into four mandibles that made the porcupede look like a plush doll.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" the voice called. Wendy was disgusted by how sweet the voice was in comparison to the abomination that it belonged to.

"We need to lure her around so everyone can be in position," Dipper whispered as he quietly pulled back towards Gideon and Candy. The red-head followed suit, hoping the electrical jacks would work their magic in a few minutes.

Slowly the group retreated further and further, alerting each other as they went. When everyone was prepared, Dipper moaned covering his face. Mabel looked at her brother confused; "What? What's wrong? Everything is going to plan!"

"Yes but we need her to follow us into the trap, what happens if she gets pissed and just levels the Shack? Then we're screwed," he explained trying not to worry the group too much.

"I'll go get her," a voice announced, and Dipper's heart sank. His girlfriend just volunteered to be bait for a demon of destruction. He didn't like it one bit, but she was definitely the fastest among them, and was the best shot at their success.

"Don't worry dork, I'll be back in a sec," the red-head smiled before walking back down the dark hall. Dipper sighed once more; "Everyone into position, we've only got one shot at this." And they split to the darkest corners to keep the element of surprise.

Wendy crept down the dark route, listening for the giantess that scoured the Mystery Shack. A smashing sound came from the gift shop. Wendy _really_ didn't want to follow it, but she had to. Peeking inside she saw that the reception desk had been reduced to chippings, but there was no sign of the demon. Wendy turned to leave the room when a small glow emanated from the smashed desk, and the purple wisp rose before her. The lumberjill lunged for the doorway as the purple flame burst into the hulking monster that was Eris.

Wendy dodged around the corner, narrowly escaping the grasp of her pursuer. As she ran with all her might, the sounds of heavy steps followed steadily behind her. The red-head just reached the trap when the armoured giantess broke the doorway in an attempt to seize her.

Wendy stopped and turned to the monster, as its face contorted and mandibles clicked in anger. She didn't move as Eris towered over her; "You're all alone now, nowhere to run. Once I've dealt with you, your friends will die one by one," the eyes of the demon squinting in delight.

As the monster raised her gauntlet to cleave the young woman, Wendy shouted out; "NOW!" Out of the darkest corners small metal objects flew, and stuck to the armour of the demon. Jolts of electricity burst out causing Eris to howl out in pain and anger, as more and more of the little things stuck to her armour, causing more and more pain. Within seconds the giantess' arms, legs and torso were sparking violently; and the creature was on its hands and knees trying to stay up.

"NO! I WON'T FALL TO PATHETIC MORTALS!" the voice cried out, nothing like the sweet voice that first sang out upon her entrance; it was now more primal and bestial. As the gang revealed themselves one by one, pointing their weapons at the demon, uncontrollable rage filled the giantess. She attempted to stand up one last time, only to have the moral she'd chased stick one of the metal objects to her head. Immediately the electrical tethers found a new link and began discharging into Eris' skull, causing her to drop unconscious on her face.

Cheers emitted from the trio of Mabel, Candy and Grenda; Tambry kissed Robbie, Gideon went to hug Pacifica but got turned down, and Dipper inspected the unconscious demon while Wendy caught her breath. Once he was happy that Eris was out for the count he turned to more important matters. With all the courage he could muster, he turned to the lumberjill and kissed her; "You were absolutely amazing!" The red-head blushed, aware that everyone was watching them, some unaware they were dating now. Tambry laughed at Robbie whose jaw had fallen, and Gideon who was just shocked that his old rival had a girlfriend.

The light-hearted mood quickly changed when a massive shadowy form appeared over Eris. Similar to the shades, only this one had purple fire erupting in bursts from its body. Mabel tried to throw some of the shock-jacks at it, but they just passed through the creature. Others tried to fire the light rays into the monster, but to no avail. The shade released a wave of shadow and smoke blowing back the gang.

The shade of Eris swung its great hands and grabbed Wendy off her feet. Her friends watched in panic trying desperately to free her from the demon's grasp. The red-head shouted out, kicking and struggling, but was exhausted from the first fight with the demon.

Pushed to the point of desperation, Dipper pulled out the Prophets Ring. Mabel saw this and screamed for him to stop, but he ignored her and pushed it onto his finger. Like before; time slowed and light drained, but unlike the other times there were bright strings of fate flicking around Dipper's hands. Erin appeared in her usual golden form and assessed the situation. "Oh dear, this isn't good. Listen close Dipper Pines, if you wish to defeat Eris you need to contort fate into your weapon. Imagine a weapon in your hand, of pure light to burn away the darkness. But be warned, if you focus on anger and hate; you could do more damage than you wish," and with those words she faded back into the ring.

Dipper looked at his hands and thought of something strong, durable and reliable. The threads of fate began to weave in his hand, growing warm and easing his mind. When he opened his eyes the young scientist was holding a white spear with a sharp tip shaped like a mature pine tree. The youth turned to the creature holding his girlfriend and focused on one thought: protecting everyone.

He reeled back and with all his remaining strength hurled the weapon through Eris' Shade, leaving a glowing hole in its chest. Dipper exhaled, walked towards the creature and stood directly below Wendy. As always; once he pulled off the ring, the universe kick-started itself. The shade screamed and dropped the lumberjill into her boyfriend's arms before clutching its chest and erupting into golden flames, consuming both the shadow and the body of the demon together.

The gang just stared at Dipper holding Wendy, and for the first time since Bill Cipher's possession ability; they were fearful of someone they thought they knew.

* * *

 **So that's another one down, now unfortunately I must ask that you all be patient with me over the coming weeks. I won't get into specifics but I may not be able to post a new chapter every weekend, for a while anyway. Once the busy period is over I'll be putting much more of my time into A Spark of Hope, which means more chapters more often.**

 **Shoutouts to Geekngroom and FullMetalKhaos: You guys keep me sane. Fereality and WilburTheWerewolf: keeping it awesome. To everyone who leaves a review; you'll all get credits in the final chapter!**

 **One last thing; I really appreciate the reviews and PM's you guys leave, the questions often help me write a better chapter each time. BUT while I value opinions on the story, the review page isn't there for people to comment on beliefs and practices. If you have an issue, PM me and Ill try to fix it in future.**

 **As always; Stay Classy.**

 **TGGDSD**


	11. Chapter 11

A Spark of Hope

Ch.11

Wendy sat on the sofa, glancing around the room at the destruction caused by Eris and her shades. Tambry and Robbie walked in, supporting each other from tipping over, and placed themselves beside the red-head.

"Hey Wendy, you okay?" Tambry asked as she slumped onto the cushions.

"Yeah, sort of, maybe? I don't know. You guys saw what happened," the lumberjill muttered, drifting in thought. Everyone was both relieved and afraid after Dipper defeated Eris. They knew that they had dodged the bullet when Dipper used the Prophets Ring to take down the demon, but that type of power changes people.

The young man had told Wendy and Mabel about the fates of previous relic users, and so far; the track record was devastating, both to the bearer and those around them. Originally it was unsettling that Dipper would be heavily exhausted when using its power, but the more he does, the less damage it seems to do to him. Wendy couldn't be sure if he was just managing the exertion of power, or if the ring was having some unseen effect on the youth.

Mabel entered the room with a broom, followed by Candy and Grenda. The brunette looked at the state of the house and tossed the instrument to the side; "No point in even trying," she sighed, then lay on the torn rug.

"Don't worry Mabel, I'm sure I can convince Marius to lend some help," Grenda offered, easing herself against what was left of the southern wall with Candy.

"Thanks Grenda. I know that my Gruncles are going freak when we tell them what's happened, but Stan will be happy knowing a Baron is behind us," she said mentally bracing herself for the phone-call-to-come.

There was a small chuckle between the group, the comedy easing their worries slightly. Then Dipper and Gideon walked and the relief subsided in a blink. Everyone looked at Dipper intently.

"Wow, you cut the mood with a sterling-silver knife," Pacifica expressed as she walked in on the scene. Candy looked at the blonde and rolled her eyes; rich person metaphors were so cringy.

Dipper looked to all his friends, his sister and Wendy. The youth paced a few steps until he was positioned in view of everyone; "Why don't you guys start with the questions, and I'll answer as best I can?" There was a brief moments silence before the room erupted with questions.

"One at a time, please! Starting from the left!" Dipper shouted over the mob pointing to Pacifica first.

"How did you kill that thing? One moment you're on your ass like the rest of us after that monster blew us back; and the next you're under it catching your girlfriend while the demon explodes!" Pacifica asked trying to keep her cool. This was also the question of most of the others were waiting to ask.

Dipper inhaled deeply and began his explanation; how the Erin taught him to use the ring as a weapon, and how the ring generally worked. This way he could inform those who knew somewhat of the rings power, and those who knew nothing.

"But how come you didn't pass out like the other times?" Mabel called out. She was concerned that the relic nearly killed her brother the first time he used it. Now not only was he unaffected by the drain he originally felt, but he could now fully move about and interfere with the world while time was stopped. Wendy had thought about that too; when the tree nearly fell on her, Dipper saw it coming and had to act quickly, but this time he had already completed his actions and was waiting at the finish line, like watching dominoes fall.

Dipper thought about it for a moment, and a worried look crept up his face. He took out the ring from his pocket and every pair of eyes locked onto it. "I don't know Mabel, but you're right. Something is really fishy, and I'm not sure what to do now."

"Why don't you just get rid of it, toss it into another dimension or destroy it?" Robbie suggested to the surprise to everyone. He wasn't the most engaging when it came to apocalypse issues, but he was trying.

"It's not that easy; I'd love to but right now we can't," Dipper announced still staring warily at the object in his hand.

"Why not Dipper!? That ring has only brought danger to you and everyone in Gravity Falls! Why can't you just…" Wendy begged, not understanding why Dipper wouldn't wash his hands of the issue.

The weirdologist looked at the lumberjill, and his heart ached at the sight. He tried so very hard not to upset her, and yet the daily occurrences of the supernatural were just a stronger force on their lives. "I can't destroy it; because it's the only thing we have that works against Chaos. Look at how Eris' Shade nearly turned you into mincemeat. Now imagine how much harder things are going to get when Chaos starts getting impatient."

The gang understood where Dipper was coming from. Nobody liked it, but as usual the youth had a point; as of now the only effective offence and defense was the accursed ring. Noticing the depressing mood Dipper decided that a boost in spirits was needed, he walked out of the room and into Ford's old study, now his. Mabel had managed to follow her brother even though it felt like her entire body was cramping up. She watched him start prying at a loose floor board next to his desk, and when it came off she couldn't contain her excitement.

The rest of the group heard Mabel's screams from the room a few doors over. Robbie and Gideon jumped up in panic, only to be told it was an excited scream not a panicking scream. The girls had become very good at distinguishing the various sounds Mabel could create with her mouth; almost an entire language in itself.

When Dipper returned, his sister was latched onto his back laughing like a manic, and under his arm was a medium sized duffel bag. He dropped the bag in front of Wendy and proceeded to struggle with his twin. While doing this, the lumberjill unzipped the carrier and her eyes widened; there was hundreds of thousands of dollars neatly arranged in thousand dollar bills. As the rest of the group noticed what Dipper had produced only Pacifica could speak, being an ex-millionaire.

"How did you get that much money? You had to have robbed a bank using one of your space gadgets!" she asked, her eyes still fixated on the contents of the bag.

Dipper had given up trying to pry off his sister, and began his explanation: "I haven't just sat around the last two years doing nothing y'know. Some of my less weird research was submitted and I got huge funding as thanks. Academies expected I'd use it buy new equipment, but a make my own from the UFO on the edge of town. This bag contains half a million in cash, as an emergency fund; since I've got more in the banks."

Everyone just stared, still trying to comprehend what it could be like to own so much money; even Pacifica was impressed since she'd never actually earned a penny of her original wealth.

"But if your loaded, why were you still working from a basement in the Mystery Shack of all places?" Tambry asked, no longer fixated on the money. Mabel just snorted at the question and answered for her brother since she knew exactly what he would have said.

"Because this place is basically his home! We spent summers here for the last six years and not a thing had changed since then. Even when Dipper moved here full time, why would he change anything? The memories that these walls hold are worth more than any sum of money you could offer him," the brunette announced, holding her head high, proud of the heartfelt speech she just gave.

Dipper grinned, happy that his twin could tell what he was thinking half the time; "That's right, and as a reward for helping defeat our first chaotic boss, everyone gets fifty-grand to spend on whatever they want, my treat."

The group of friends could believe it, each reaching for a stack of cash when suddenly the bag was pulled out of reach. "But first, try and scrounge up as many knick-knacks as you can. I'd like to save as much of the original stuff before I pay for renovation," Dipper said with a smirk. "Come, come now; the sooner you all start searching, the faster you get your reward!" With no time wasted the group was rejuvenated, fueled by their desires, no longer feeling tense and sore, they hastily started scavenging for any unharmed trinkets.

A short time later the group had returned with a decent number of objects: Stan bobble heads, bumper stickers, a singed puma shirt and a couple other pieces of junk only Dipper and Mabel would consider valuable. Then came the moment most had awaited; each one received fifty thousand dollars in cold hard cash.

Pacifica of all people had to point out that even when Dipper took a share of the money, there was still a stack left. He explained that it was for the repairs to the Shack and that nobody was getting any more money.

Tambry and Robbie left very excited, saying that they were just a call away if there was trouble. Pacifica wanted to blow it all on her personal pleasure, but decided to invest it in some of Dipper's other projects as stocks, knowing that down the line the fifty thousand could become a few million. Gideon gave a nod of thanks and said he'd be leaving town for a few days, but he'd be back after some purchases off some people he knew back in Texas. Mabel decided that she'd go with Candy and Grenda for a super-spree; "God knows what those three are gonna do," Dipper thought to himself. The brunette also informed her brother that she would stay with the girls until the Shack was fixed.

Finally, Dipper turned to Wendy who held her portion of money with both hands, afraid that if she let go it may just disappear. Never before had she or her family had so much money to spend leisurely. Growing up her dad worked overtime just to have enough money to clothe, feed and educate herself and her brothers. When her oldest brother started helping out at the lumberyards, a little more money was distributed in the household. Dipper just looked at her, understanding what she was feeling and giving her some space.

"Dipper, I-I-I don't know what to say," the red-head stammered out. Her boyfriend walked over and embraced her, trying to give a sense of security. When he pulled away he grinned warmly and held out his portion of money; "I think this should be reasonable payment if you were to let me sleep on your couch for a week or so?" he proposed. Dipper didn't feel like he should ever just give a handout like the Northwest family used to do in order to maintain control of people; he'd awarded his sullen comrades after they aided in the defeat of a dangerous demon, and now he was in need of shelter, food and companionship.

Wendy jumped at him with a bear-hug that could match her fathers, joy radiating from her laughs. She really did have the best boyfriend ever; smart, dependable, understanding, caring and never forceful on any topic of debate.

"Well, I suppose we should get going before it gets too late," Dipper suggested. He took up the duffel bag and Wendy placed the money inside and zipped it up. The young man slung it over his shoulder and the pair began to make their way to the Corduroy cabin. Unaware of the shadowy figure leaning against the trees out of their line of sight.

A man in a black trench coat stood with his arms crossed, his eyes focused on the young man who walked in the opposite direction. "Well played Dipper Pines, but don't act so confident. I've never lost before, and I don't plan to anytime soon."

Chaos opened his hand and a purple flame appeared; the last cries of Eris before she was destroyed echoed from the light. A twitch of anger crossed the ancient being's face; his eyes flashing crimson and his hair turning white. Snapping his hand closed the flame extinguished, and the ancient evil turned to smoke on the wind, his thoughts of revenge simmering, waiting to be acted upon.

* * *

 **Yay, another one down. I decided I had to finish this before Monday, so now I'm going to try and get minimum sleep for tomorrow. I know this was kind of a filler chapter, but there has to be some between fluff and action or else it's just terrible cutting! But from the reviews, you all seem fairly happy with how it's going, so I'll keep it up.**

 **Shoutouts: Geekngroom and FullMetalKhaos; these two are awesome writers so check out their stuff! BIuefish; for joining the story and giving some really awesome feedback, help make the presentation of the story better. And the usual guys, you know who you are, just thanks for enjoying the story.**

 **Truthfully, if the story hadn't gotten the feedback it has, it would have finished off around this chapter, but you guys keep it going and kicking with your reviews and PM's, and for that I must thank you. As I mentioned in the last chapter, I may need to take a break so it may be two weeks before you see the next chapter, or two weeks from the next chapter to the one after. Its just life getting in the way.**

 **AS ALWAYS! Stay Classy,**

 **TGGDSD.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Apologies everyone, things were really busy last week and I didn't have a decent chapter to post. This chapter would have been out yesterday but Murphy's Law: I was bed ridden. Anyway enough yapping; here's the double length chapter as repayment.**

A Spark of Hope

Ch.12

Dipper sat on the couch, watching the morning news. Despite the cold weather, the inside of the cabin was warm and cosy. The young man had become accustomed to sleeping on Wendy's sofa, even though she had insisted he take one of the other beds in her home.

He hadn't slept late into the morning since he was accustomed to late nights and early risings, where as his red-haired partner was relishing in her bed, dreaming of all the things she could buy that would surprise her family when they got back. Dipper flicked between channels glimpsing at different advertisements: A tall cowboy with a mohawk and braided chin-beard advertising outside 'Harlie's Buy-All', a soldier covered in shamrocks at 'Roach's Rounds and Firearms', and a Bulgarian man selling originally brewed beer at Baba Vida's local bar-market; Kasakov.

Dipper always wondered why the little town received such international television, and concluded it was probably something to do with either Ford's old machines or the "broken" UFO. The sound of knocking about informed him that Wendy had decided it was finally time to get up. The young man stood up and walked to the kitchen to prepare some coffee while he awaited the lumberjill's presence.

Wendy had opened her curtains and completed her morning ritual of stretching and rubbing her joints. She looked to the bag at the end of her bed, opening it to confirm that Dipper had in fact given her one-hundred thousand dollars. It wasn't a dream; the money was there and Eris was gone. Everything was looking up, but Wendy knew that she must have a serious talk with her boyfriend about the fate of the Prophet's Ring. However, there would be time for that later, now she would wish her favourite dork good morning.

"Morning Dip, how was the couch?" the red-head called out with sass in her voice, hoping to embarrass him. In the small kitchen, Dipper had his back to her as he stirred sugar into the mugs; "It was great; the smell of your sweaty sports tops on the back knocked me out right away," he joked trying to flip the tables on her.

The lumberjill felt heat in her cheeks but refused to admit defeat. She snuck up behind Dipper, wrapped her arms around his chest and kissed his cheek. Wendy had him; she could feel him tense up and stop stirring the drinks. Dipper knew it was do or die time, admit defeat, or bet on probability. "Well played Ms. Corduroy, but did we forget to put pants on again this morning?"

The red-head let go of him, and looked down. The sound of feet running away from him was all Dipper needed to hear. "Win/win; I didn't lose the contest or get scalded with coffee this time," he smiled, turned around and began to sip the brew waiting for Wendy to return. When she finally came back, she was wearing a pair of red tracksuit bottoms, to match her crimson cheeks. The young scientist grinned as she took the coffee from his hands and avoided eye contact. He continued to smile at the bashful woman, trying to keep a cool demeaner.

"What? You see something you like?" Wendy quizzed, hoping to regain some ground.

"Every time I look at you," the young man answered without thinking. Both he and Wendy froze; then the red-head shot a look at him with a big toothy grin across her face. The young woman's heart jumping for joy at the comment, and the fact that Dipper was blushing so hard his face looked like a tomato.

"So, ahem, shall we go out for breakfast?" the young man proposed trying to divert his girlfriend's attention to anything other than himself for a minute.

"Indeed we will, Sir Dippingsauce; do prepare your finest attire," Wendy replied in a posh accent, with pout on her face and pinkie-finger raised.

Dipper bowed, walked into Wendy's room for a brief minute before returning in a light emerald t-shirt and jeans. He threw on his iconic duster and boots, before standing tall with his arms out; "Ta-da!" Wendy just broke down laughing at the spare clothes her boyfriend had brought over. They were perfect for her, since she really didn't care about first class brands and clothes, but Dipper had literally millions of dollars, and he didn't even pack a full set of clothes, just a top and a bottom.

A short stroll from the cabin later, and the happy pair were at town centre deciding what they would like on such a chilly morning. They decided that perhaps trying the new festive menu at 'Greasy's Diner' was a safe choice; since the couple didn't like change where they could help it.

After the usual formalities with Lazy Susan, Dipper and Wendy launched into snowflake pancakes with hot chocolate spread and ice-cream. Sure, it wasn't a healthy breakfast; but it was nearly Christmas. Finally finished Wendy looked around the diner: only one man in the farthest booth from them still looking at the menu. The lumberjill took a deep breath and reached out for Dipper's hand; "We need to talk Dipper."

The young man was surprised, but immediately understood what was happening. He lowered his mug and checked for anyone who may be in earshot before proceeding. Reaching into his breast pocket, he took out the black piece of jewellery and placed it in the centre of the table. However, his red-headed girlfriend still held his hand, not even looking at the relic.

"Dipper, we'll get to that later; right now, we need to talk about you." Wendy looked into his eyes with concern. "Dipper, it's about your behaviour since all this started. When you first found that thing, you were a mess; frightened, agitated and near suicidal. It nearly killed you the first time you wore it, for god's sake!" the young woman was trying not to draw any attention to them, and had to lower her tone of voice. "I'm afraid Dipper. That ring is effecting you somehow, and I don't know what to do, nor does your sister."

They sat in silence for what seemed forever before Dipper spoke up; "Wendy, I know how you feel, really. But please understand; when I first found it, Chaos was watching me; creating visions and nightmares to try and break me. I was mentally unstable because of his influence. However, the more I used the ring, the more resistance I built against him. I don't know if that's because it was created by Chaos then Order altered it, or if something else is stopping his influence on my mind all together." He took a sip of his drink and squeezed the lumberjill's hand before continuing.

"Wendy; do you know why I did all of these things? Try to blow up the lab, use the ring repeatedly when it could have hurt me or worse? It's because I wanted to keep you safe. To keep away the dangers that have found their way to Gravity Falls, so you don't have to fear and panic for those you love; but above all else: because I couldn't let you, Mabel, or anyone else put on the relic for fear it would kill you as it nearly killed me; or worse." Dipper concluded, hoping the message he conveyed was enough to ease the young woman's worries. He knew, unfortunately, that when it came to the supernatural; there were things much, much worse than just dying.

They were silent again, and only the sound of the man in the far booth drinking his soup kept Susan from hearing the conversation. Wendy looked at the Prophets Ring, then to her boyfriend. The red-head was taken aback at the tears streaming down the young man's face, which he wasn't even aware of himself. The lumberjill could never fully understand what he was thinking, but she could confirm two things: Dipper was fully functional now that the ancient demon's connection had been severed; and that no matter what, he would always put her first, even if it meant he would get hurt as a result.

Wendy gave his hand one last squeeze before letting go and wiping his cheeks with a napkin. "Okay Dipper, but please don't use the ring unless you absolutely have to, for my sake." He nodded and put the ring back into his pocket.

"Well now, how about I accompany you whilst you do some Christmas shopping?" the young man proposed, attempting to liven up the mood after the serious heart to heart talk. A great big smile spread across Wendy's face as she awaited her very first Christmas shopping spree; and with a hundred grand in the bag and an awesome boyfriend to match, the red-head believed that it couldn't be any better.

As the pair got up to leave, Wendy noticed Lazy Susan come running out of the diner's kitchen. The old woman wore a kind grin, and held her hands behind her back. The lumberjill was confused until Dipper approached her, and the waitress held out a small present, wrapped with a red bow.

"Every year somebody leaves a very generous tip on the desk after rush hour; two-thousand dollars in an envelope. Last year I thought about who always comes just before Christmas; and you came to mind. Thank you, Dipper, with your annual gift I can afford some time off to spoil myself, and for an old woman like myself, it means the world." Smiling from ear to ear, with her eye squinting to focus on the young man, Susan stood offering up the present.

Wendy watched as Dipper carefully took the wrapped box from the now frail old woman; "I was hoping you'd never find out it was me. That way you could imagine some handsome man sending it as a gift, or from somebody close to you who makes everything better when you think about them."

Susan wrapped her arms around the young man, still grinning; "You and the other Pines are the closest thing I've had to a family in a very long time." Wendy was trying to hold in her tears at the heart gripping scene.

"Susan, how about you come over this year for your Christmas dinner, with us?" Dipper proposed, Wendy nodding in agreement. "It's Wendy's first Christmas ever, and my Gruncles are away; the more the merrier."

"That would be really great; I'd like that," the waitress admitted, tears running down her wrinkly face; tears of joy. "Will I need to bring anything?"

"Just yourself and warm clothes; it's due to be a very cold night. Take care Susan," and with that, Dipper was released from the hug and the waitress returned to her duties, a spring in her step. The young man turned to his lumberjill companion and signalled for them to leave, but found himself grinning when he saw the red-head with her lips clenched, chin raised and eyes half closed trying to hide her emotion; though tear lines and red cheeks were a dead giveaway.

After a moment to fix herself up Wendy was on the move again, leading her dork by the hand to the Gravity Falls Mall. The sight took her breath away: hundreds of coloured lights leading inside, with decorations adorning every available nook and cranny. Inside was even better; more lights, baubles, tinsel, fake snow, and electronic toys whizzing around the floor and air.

"Have I been missing this every year for eighteen years!" the young woman exclaimed in disbelief. It felt like a cruel joke that her father had kept this from her for her whole life; but had to agree that apocalypse training had its benefits, as she'd demonstrated time and time again. "Oh man…just wow." Among the noise of toys and shoppers, the sounds of Christmas music swayed through the air, adding to the wonder and excitement of the twenty-two-year-old.

"Let's start with my stuff!" Wendy announced and started wandering towards the electronics store. Dipper found himself chuckling whenever his girlfriend would become distracted by something festive; which was about every three steps. When they finally arrived, the red-head began perusing the shelves, reading the descriptions of every cell phone. "Look at all the added features, is this a phone or a hand-held computer?" she asked Dipper, honestly confused.

As he explained all the different features of the tech in simple English, the young scientist found himself thoroughly enjoying himself in the company of his girlfriend. Just being in her presence and engaging with her was all he needed; if she was happy, he was happy. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed a group he knew all too well; his twin sister and her friends raiding the mall for anything and everything they wanted. "Hey Wendy, look over there," he pointed, giving her a light prod.

"Oh my God; how much have they bought!?" the young woman exclaimed. The trio were carrying multiple bags in each hand, and a man in black clothes followed suit with a stack of boxes towering over him as he carried the load behind the girls.

"Grenda's butler is going to throw out his back this Christmas if he carries any more boxes," Dipper pointed out. "Grenda has a butler?" Wendy asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, last year Marius started seriously doting on her, upgraded her house and everything. I have no idea why there's only one butler tending the grounds, but he makes it look easy," the youth continued. Mabel was leading the group, her eyes darting around for potential gifts when she saw her brother standing beside his new girlfriend. Dipper froze when his eyes met hers, and time stood still for a moment; "Don't move, she can't see us if we don't move," he whispered to Wendy. "Isn't that a T-rex?" the red-head asked, as the silly brunette began gaining speed in their direction. Dipper looked at her and sighed; "Damn it."

"Hey-hey bro-bro, out on a date?" the mischievous youth asked, a naughty grin curling around her face. Candy and Grenda had followed over to see what was up. They seemed in a good mood with their bags of gifts and goodies. "Having a good time ladies?" Dipper asked in order to ignore his sister, who was blowing his cheeks out in protest.

"Yep, all that's left on my list is to pick out some new tech from this store," Candy motioned to the store Dipper and Wendy were standing in. The young girl had become very technologically advanced for her age. She was far better at hacking than Dipper was, and was sometimes asked for her services when Dipper needed somebody to test his new firewalls and computer defences.

"We just came from Matti's! Mabel showed us her shop, it's so cool. I bought most of the stuff I want from there," Grenda explained. Dipper was hit with a thought, he hadn't shown Wendy Matti's shop yet.

"All right girls, well enjoy the rest of your day. Mabel I'll be in touch, the repair guys should let me know when the Shack will be finished by this evening. If it's not ready in a day or two, I'll add some funding to their project," the young man announced, using air quotes when he said 'funding', before turning back to Wendy. "How about we get your phone and I take you to see somebody you're really gonna like?" Wendy gave him a peck on the cheek before running back inside the store, leaving her date to endure to 'Oooo's' of the three girls.

When the lumberjill returned with her brand-new phone, and a gift bag, the young woman linked arms with her boyfriend and let him lead the way. All too happy to oblige, he said his goodbyes and wished Grenda's butler a Merry Christmas. As the couple made their way across the mall, Dipper began to inform Wendy of this Matti character.

"Matti arrived into Gravity Falls, and few years ago, but only stays for the holidays. She creates the coolest stuff using the resources she finds across the world. What's most interesting is how she knows about the supernatural occurrences here, and in other countries." Dipper went on about this character for about four minutes when they arrived at a small store in the rented section of the mall. "Oh, and one last thing; she gets help from some people you may already know," the scientist mentioned before opening the door to Matti's store.

Much like the disbelief when Wendy first saw the wonder that was Christmas decorations, what she witnessed before her took the next step forward. All around the store were decorations and items that looked incredibly complicated, doing fantastic things before her very eyes. "Just so you know, everything is using magic relics from Gravity Falls," Dipper explained to the mesmerised lumberjill.

Strange shaped snow-globes created actual snow in the room, being sucked in and launched up before it could touch the floor; slabs of basalt that would write your name in suspended magma when you touched it; ceramic doves that flew around the room and roosted on the golden pine tree that was growing all sorts of eatable berries. The list could go on and on, and Wendy held tightly to her boyfriend's arm, trying not to be overcome by the magical experience. "I need a second, please," she asked, the words barely making any noise. Dipper lead her to a sofa next to the window, where the red-head collected herself. It was so amazing, breath taking and overwhelming, that the poor woman couldn't take it all in at once.

"It's okay, just breath. Everyone is exactly the same the first time they see this place, even I nearly passed out. You however, are getting a sucker punch dealing with normal Christmas and magical Christmas," Dipper spoke to her, and rubbed her back, hoping that she would recover in a minute.

The sound of a bell rang out when the door behind the counter opened three times and nobody could be seen. Wendy looked at Dipper looking for an answer, but he just smiled. "Don't you guys know it's been five minutes since we came in?" Dipper called out towards the counter, when small footsteps were heard. From around the front desk, came three tiny men with beards dressed in green and red costumes, with matching hats.

"Gnomes?!" Wendy shouted upon seeing the trio emerge. "Technically we're elves for the next week, but yes, we're gnomes so what?" the front most gnome replied.

"Hey Jeff, Steve, Carl. Is Matti in?" Dipper asked helping Wendy relax. "It's okay, their fine. They work here at Christmas and they're not as bad as you remember. Now they just steal food occasionally, not kidnap people."

"Yeah, what he said," Jeff announced as he turned to the other gnomes, "Let's go let Matti know who's arrived," and they retuned back behind the counter door. Seconds later the door burst open and a young woman in her mid-twenties stood before them in denim overalls, with big steam-punk goggles, and ocean blue hair.

"Dipper Pines! Merry Christmas; you know your sister was just here with her friends? Anyway, what can I do for you?" her cheery voice remind Wendy of Mabel, only she had no accent at all. Sure, there was tone and emotion in her voice, but Wendy couldn't guess where she haled from.

"Hey Matti, Merry Christmas. I've got somebody very special with me today; remember the girl I told you about? Well here she is, back for her first Christmas ever." Dipper helped up the red-head lumberjill and presented her to the blue-haired shopkeeper.

"Wow, first ever Christmas. That's a lot to take in, I'm not surprised you look like you're about to tip over; tough girl," the happy woman trailed off. "Anyway! What can I get you on this fine afternoon?" she asked leaning over the shop counter.

Wendy looked at her, then to Dipper, confused as to what she meant. "Matti here, will make you anything you want, within reason; just give her a general gist of what you'd like," her boyfriend explained. The lumberjill thought for a moment, the smiled knowing exactly what she wanted. "You wait outside for a few minutes mister," she said, pushing Dipper in the direction of the exit, to which he agreed and left.

"Okay; can you make me two rings?" Wendy asked the woman in front of her. Matti just raised her eyebrow, "You can get rings in any jewellery shop missy, what's so important I have to do it?" Wendy produced the crystal necklace that Dipper had fashioned for her from the Crystal Forest shortly after she'd arrived back in town. It still sparked like a rainbow, holding the last of the sunlight on that day in its bonds. "I'd like to have two rings similar to this, rings that will capture a precious moment and reflect that forever; can you do that?" the red-head asked, hoping with all her soul that it could be done.

Matti looked into the Wendy's eyes, examining the contrast between the emerald shade in her head, and the ruby shade that came from her head; mysteriously beautiful. The woman smiled and snapped her goggles over her eyes; "Now that's the type of thing this shop was meant for! Back in a jiffy!" For a brief moment, Wendy thought that Matti's eyes had changed colour when she put on the goggles. Immediately sounds of construction could be heard from beyond the counter door, incredibly loud, Wendy felt the ground shaking. Looking out the shop window, she could see Dipper with his back to her, completely unaffected by the noise or shaking. When the sound of industry stopped, the young woman turned back to the desk, where Matti stood holding a small jewellery box, grinning. The woman's iris' had in fact turned golden, and Wendy couldn't help but stare.

The blue-haired woman was confused for a moment and then realised what her customer was staring at. When she took off the goggles her eyes returned to bright blue, and she began to speak; "Just the goggles missy, no need to panic. Demon possession isn't something that can get me; I've got charms all over the place, even on my underwear!" she laughed to herself, further reminding Wendy of the artsy twin whom she'd known for so long. "Anyway, I have your rings ready, but there's a catch: only open the box when you believe it's the perfect moment. That's how you get the quality item you want." Wendy examined the ring box; a little clip and a tight ribbon were the only things holding it sealed.

The lumberjill took the box from Matti, and felt a tug on her pants-leg. One of the gnomes had brought her a takeaway bag so she didn't have to leave it in her pocket. "Thanks buddy, no hard feelings?" she asked. "SHMEBULOCK!" the gnome nodded and walked away. Wendy was surprised at this response but returned her attention to Matti; "Thanks very much, how much do I owe you?"

"Nothing," the blue-haired craftswoman replied; "If it's worth making at my store, it's priceless and not worth paying for. Have a Merry Christmas, I hope to see you next year."

As Wendy left the shop, Matti's eyes followed her. She watched the young couple kiss quickly and continue on with their journey. "Love is the greatest thing ever made, right guys?" All the gnomes agreed and began pouring out eggnog, offering some to their boss. "Ah what the hell, it's Christmas." She downed the drink in one go, and laughed with her little helpers, when suddenly they ran around her and hid behind the counter. Matti looked to the location of her hiding employees, then to the shop window. The air went cold as a figure dressed in black passed by without so much as looking into the shop. Matti grabbed the wrench on the counter top, one of the many tools she used when crafting, and ran for the door. Upon opening it, the figure was nowhere to be seen, while Dipper and Wendy were just leaving the mall. Matti turned around and sat back down in her shop; "Either that was some funky eggnog, or I need to get stronger demon repellent."

* * *

 **Another Chapter down, Woo!**

 **Special thanks to Geekngroom and FullMetalKhaos: my inspiration, and my friends who are the reason I kept this story going after Chapter 4! Check out their stories 'Worlds Apart' and 'Written In The Stars' (Both way better than this old drab!)**

 **Thanks to the usual reviewers who are improving the quality of the story with every message.**

 **I highly recommend that you leave a review or a PM, not just on this story but every other story you enjoy, because it is greatly appreciated by us authors and helps us improve our writing with every chapter.**

 **As Always, Stay Classy,**

 **TGGDSD**


	13. Chapter 13

A Spark of Hope

Ch.13

The cold night air crept between the trees as the moon's icy light reflected off the frosty earth, and the only sound to be heard were the footsteps of a happy couple on their way back from a day of shopping. Arm in arm, Dipper and Wendy strolled happily back to the Corduroy cabin with bags of gifts in their free hands.

"Okay, okay, yeah, I'll see you in a couple of days," Dipper finished his phone call and turned to his crimson companion; "Mabel can't wait to get back to the Shack when its ready and begin decorating."

"Well she'll have two whole days to do her thing before Christmas Day, that's plenty of time for an 'Arts and Crafts Master' like herself," Wendy laughed referencing Mabel's self-bestowed rank. Honestly, she was the most excited person, as the holiday was approaching and the lumberjill just couldn't wait.

As the wooden cabin came into sight, the young woman ran on ahead smiling back at her boyfriend. Dipper sighed and grinned; "Aren't you supposed to be the mature one in this relationship?" Wendy stuck out her tongue and giggled like Mabel used to, when she was exposing Dipper's romantic secrets. She opened the door to her home and left it ajar. When the young man followed her inside, he noticed the gift bags left on the main table and defrosting boot prints leading to the bedrooms.

"She hasn't changed since the day I met her, and I hope she never does," the youth smiled to himself. Dipper placed his bags beside the others on the table and went to take off his coat, when a light knocking on the front door caught his ear. "Hey Wendy, somebody is at your door!" he called out. No response came, and there was another knock on the oaken entrance. Dipper wanted to check on Wendy but felt he shouldn't leave the visitor in the cold longer than needed. He walked towards the light rapping upon wood and opened the door, immediately regretting his decision.

Standing in front of Dipper Pines was a man, wearing black pants and shoes, a black trench-coat with a white shirt that had its collar open. But it was his face that Dipper focused on; very pale, almost as white as snow, coal black hair, and crimson eyes that burned at the young man's very soul. Every fibre of Dipper's being told him to slam the door and put on the Prophet's Ring, but he couldn't move.

The figure inspected him, as if ranking him on some sort of system, before walking calmly past him into the house. As soon as he was inside, Dipper swung around to confront the _thing_ that just entered. When he turned, the youth couldn't find heads nor tails of the intruder, then he felt an icy grip on his shoulder. "How did he get behind me, I literally just saw him walk inside," Dipper's mind exclaimed.

"Hello Dipper Pines. I don't believe we've been formally introduced; I am Chaos," the character explained, and Dipper turned to see a horrifying grin from the ancient demon with the red in his eyes flowing like molten rock, while his hair began to turn from black to silver. "And don't bother trying to call your little girlfriend or use your cell phone; right now, you and I are going to have a little chat and nobody is going to interfere."

Dipper was pushed towards the sofa, his heart racing as memories of Bill Cipher returned; another demon who was influence on the physical world was seriously bad news. "Don't bother putting on my ring, boy. It has no effect while I exert my influence to speak with you," explained the wraith-like figure, as he summoned a thrown of shadows in the centre of the room.

"Why are you even here?" Dipper finally managed to ask, still deciding whether to run or use the ring, but the last thing anyone should do is call a god's bluff.

"You already know that, try to calm down and be civil for a moment. What was poor Eris screaming about when you mercilessly obliterated her with Ascalon?" the ancient asked, somewhat bored with the slow human.

Dipper thought back to the terrifying event and the monster that lead him to sleeping at Wendy's house last night. It clicked in his mind; the Prophet's Ring!? But why would Chaos want it? All it ever did was damage the ring bearers of history, why the take back?

"Why do you want the ring, can't you do without it?" the youth asked, still wishing for a miracle to escape his current situation.

Chaos grinned, amused at the sight before him. "That right, that nasty thing is only going to do harm to everyone you know, why don't you give it to me and I'll make you a deal?"

Dipper felt his heart stop for a moment, the dreadful memories returning of anytime someone made a deal with Bill. Rationally thinking, getting rid of the ring was good, but to give it to a creature infinitely worse than Cipher; not even an idiot would make that mistake. The look on his face must have tipped the ancient being off, because he continued his offer with a sickeningly believable tone; "And I even promise to leave the Earth alone for a thousand years, how about that! Guaranteed safety for your family and your girlfriend for a millennium."

Dipper felt sick, it was a good offer. Ten generations of happiness was a tempting offer, but what after that? The thought of being the person who brought about the end of the world was very heavy. He wished for a way out, to run or talk with Erin, but the stare of Chaos was unbreakable. As the ancient demon reached out his hand everything went black. Dipper could only see Chaos and himself in the endless darkness.

"What do you say, boy?" Chaos asked, his form wavering like black smoke. Dipper looked around the darkness, looking for any chance of escape. Nothing. Defeated, he turned to the shadow behind him, looking only at the pale-bony hand. Staring into the eyes of Chaos, Dipper felt powerless, if he gave up now then there was a thousand years to try and stop the demon. Fighting now was stupid, Chaos was a god and there was no way anyone could oppose him. Dipper reached for the hand, when he heard a voice; "Dipper? Where did you go?" It was Wendy.

The young man yanked back his hand, and regained his composure. All the voices in his head telling him to give in where being forced out. "Wendy! I'm over here!" he called into the darkness.

"No! Don't be a fool. Give me the ring!" Chaos roared. Dipper turned, horrified by the form Chaos had taken: A gigantic creature, slender like the hide-behind, with four arms and razor claws. The demon was going berserk and couldn't hold his disguise as his face warped into bone, his teeth became many fangs, his eyes erupted into flames, and his hair grew long and pale. The young man jumped back to avoid one of the arms, and hit an invisible wall, the edge of Chaos' illusion. He banged hard with his fists shouting for Wendy.

Outside the shadowy realm, Wendy stood staring at a pitch-black dome in the middle of the room. Dipper hadn't responded to her calls since she ran to her room. "Oh no, Dipper are you in there!?" she panicked hearing the soft thumps from beyond the shadows. The lumberjill began throwing everything at the black wall; chairs, plates, forks, glasses and even her boots that she had on since getting home. When she ran out of items the throw, the red-head began to assault the shadows herself, ramming her shoulder against it repeatedly.

Back inside the Chaos realm, Dipper tried to avoid the angry god but knew it was only a matter of time before he was grabbed. As he predicted, he was seized by the giant demon after only thirty seconds of dodging. He was hoisted up high by two of the arms, their razor claws sinking into his flesh. "Give in, you can never defeat Chaos," the dark voiced echoed through his mind. Dippers vision began to go dark, he couldn't tell if the demon was turning invisible, or his consciousness was failing. Before Dipper's sight vanished, he saw a small blue light behind Chaos, and it grew and grew, creating cracks in shadowy prison until a sudden burst shattered the dark realm completely. Dipper was back in Wendy's cabin, still seized by the giant demon, but able to see again. What he saw was more beautiful than anything he had ever seen before: Wendy stood before Chaos, blue light radiating from her chest. Dipper wasn't sure if there were actual wings behind Wendy or if it was just a trick of the suffocation he'd endured. The young woman held her ground before the demon; "Let. Him. Go."

Chaos stood back, dropping Dipper in the process, and readied himself to fight. The young scientist could only watch the battle with awe and panic. Chaos fired beams of shadow at Wendy, which disintegrated before they hit her. The demon released a wail of rage as it bolted for the freckled angel. Wendy reached for her chest, the source of the light, and threw it at Chaos, and with a blinding explosion the demon was gone; and where he last stood was Wendy's crystal necklace, now pitch black as the dark essence writhed within.

Before he could even stand, Dipper was tackled by his girlfriend as she sobbed into his shoulder; "I t-t-thought he'd k-k-killed y-you." Dipper wanted to comfort her and tell her it would be okay, but Dipper knew this wasn't over, something wasn't right and he needed to figure it out fast.

"Wendy, how did you do that; with the light and the wings?" he asked, gently pushing her back as to see her face.

The lumberjill wiped her eyes and sniffed; "When I tried to break the wall, I started throwing myself against it, and suddenly the necklace you gave me started to glow, and each time I hit the wall it got brighter until it broke through. But then it started to get really hot when that stupid demon started attacking me. I heard a voice, it whispered to me and said; Throw it."

Dipper hugged her tight for a moment; "Did anyone touch the necklace recently? Did you come in contact with anything strange? It could be the reason why the necklace just did what it did." Wendy thought for a moment, there was nothing too strange, since the she'd gotten the gift. If it was anti demon, then it would have glowed when she was facing Eris; so what happen since then…

"Matti." The young woman looked her partner in the eyes; "Matti touched it in the shop when I was…explaining what I wanted from her shop," Wendy explained trying to hold in the secret about the gift she'd asked for. Dipper nodded, helped Wendy up and put her on the sofa. He then went over to the now black necklace, watching it twist and shudder from the poison that inhabited it. "Don't move Wendy, I'll be back in a second," the young man explained and went off to Wendy's room, where he took a small cube from the inside of his duffel bag. Returning to the necklace, he pushed a button on the cube which caused it to suck in the jewellery without direct touch. Sealed away, he sat beside Wendy and let out a sigh.

"I think we should go see Matti, in the morning, and ask her about enchantments and wards?" Dipper proposed. Wendy nodded, and glanced around the room. The red-head began to chuckle than laugh.

"What?" Dipper asked, a smile creeping up his face.

"All the broken furniture…I smashed it trying to break you out! Dad made those chairs with his bare hands. It's a good thing I have cash to spend, or else I'd be spending the rest of my holidays creating new chairs," she laughed.

Dipper laughed with her, not because it was funny, but because it made them feel better. They finally had a break from stress, even if it was just for a night.

Out in the forest, the statue of Bill Cipher lay, frost had finally covered it as the weather was finally acting like mid-Winter. Standing in front of it was Chaos, in his human form, staring at a tiny hole in his hand. "It seems that she's closer than I thought. Time to prepare for a special visit," the god spoke aloud, his crimson eyes staring into the night sky. He turned to the statue once more and held up his hand. A shadowy orb appeared for a moment before exploding like a grenade, shattering Cipher to dust. From the dust rose wisps of shadow which filled the hole in Chaos hand.

"The eternal paradox," he muttered as he walked into the inky-black depths of the forest.

* * *

 **So that's another one down. Apologies for the weird release times, I'm busy with exams and they're awkwardly placed as to interfere with my writing time. I may not be posting another chapter until around Christmas, but then again; I probably will because writing is more fun than study.**

 **Special thanks to Geekngroom for keeping me sane with her wit and constant assistance. Check out her story 'Worlds Apart' if you are enjoying what you're reading here.**

 **Special thanks to FullMetalKhaos for his excellent advice on mentally torturing my characters; no pain no gain! Check out his super-long story 'Written in the Stars' if you like professionally written storys.**

 **Shoutouts to: fereality, BIuefish and DARK WOLF for their reviews on the last chapter, it helps, really!**

 **That should just about wrap things up, but out of curiosity; if anyone wants to have a guess at where the story is going, do so at the end of your review. Who knows, some of your ideas may be included before the final stream of arc-chapters, making the story longer!**

 **As Always, Stay Classy,**

 **TGGDSD.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Happy Holidays everyone! I originally wanted to have this out on the 25th but Christmas with me is more work than any other holiday! Just before we start, I'd like to thank everyone since we've reached 12,000 views since I started 3 months ago!**

A Spark of Hope

Ch.14

It was only a few days until Christmas, and Mabel Pines wasn't even in her own home. The brunette, looked out the large open windows of her friend's mansion at the grey clouds gathering beyond the mountains.

"Looks like it'll be a white Christmas this year," the brunette thought to herself. "I wonder how Mom and Dad are doing back home; would've been nice if they could come up to see Dipper." The young woman was aware that her bother talked regularly with their parents, but due to his work with Ford that last few years; he had only been home once as a surprise for her birthday last year. "I'm gonna fill the Shack with so much Christmas cheer, he'll be pulling tinsel from his ears for a month!" she said, getting back into her cheerful mentality.

Mabel changed out of the spare pyjamas that we always available for her, since Grenda was more than happy to let her friend stay with her whenever she was in town, and left her queen-sized bedroom to greet the day. Knowing that her friend usually didn't wake up until somebody dragged her out of bed, the brunette decided it would be best to eat first and build up her strength. Hopping onto the banister, she spiralled down three flights of stairs and strolled into the kitchen wondering what she would like to eat.

"Should I have cereal, toast, or see if Denis is around to cook up something. Maybe the smell of bacon will wake Grenda without the risk being mauled!" she laughed to herself at the hibernating Grenda's expense. As she made her way to the far counter, Mabel spotted the butler just outside, on the other side of the glass-screen door. He was sitting on the steps with a large bowl beside him, occasionally picking up some food. When Mabel approached the door, she saw what was really happening; the butler was having breakfast with various animals, some belonged on the grounds, while others were clearly not even normal. Mabel watched happily as he fed the birds from his hands, as the large deer shared some berries he had placed on the bottom steps while the more exotic animals of the town gathered for the free meal. Six legged boars with lemur tails snuffled around for bread crusts, and a cow-like creature with large paws for feet and bat wings, nudged him for treats which gained the odd creature the last of the items in the bowl. Having finished their breakfast, the collection of animals looked at Denis for more when the cow creature noticed a human in a pink fluffy sweater pressed against the glass door. The creature let out a deep cry causing all the other fauna to turn tail as it followed them, leaping into the woods.

The man turned and saw Mabel, dusted himself off and made for the entrance. "Good morning Ms. Pines, can I assist you?" he asked in his usual helpful tone. The youth couldn't formulate words; only her gang and Dipper had ever really dealt with the supernatural since the law Mayor Tyler issued after Weirdmageddon. "What was that? With the crazy cow and the not crazy critters?" she blurted out finally.

"Ms. Pines, you of all people understand what goes on in this town better than most as I've heard all the stories from the Mistress. You'll have to be a bit clearer with what you'd like me to explain," the butler asked.

"Okay, okay," Mabel cleared her mind and focused on a single question at a time. "What were you doing with those animals, and did you even see what you were sitting beside?"

The servant paced past her and placed the now empty bowl in the kitchen sink. "I was having breakfast with the animals of the local area, as I do every morning. I always did so back home, and when I began working for the Ms. Gendinator, I was happy to continue my tradition," he explained, taking out ingredients from the refrigerator. "As for what was beside me just before we began our conversation, well; I don't know what its species is, but I call her Bessie."

Mabel snorted then covered her smile; "Bessie" was the last she would have called the creature that fled their presence minutes ago; and yet it fit quite well. The brunette cleared her throat and asked; "But you know that it wasn't a normal animal, so how come you're so calm about this?" She noticed that he was preparing a large breakfast, possibly pancakes; Mabel was drawn to the smell, almost not noticing that the chef was answering her.

"As I said; back home I was very comfortable with nature, and so I find myself luckily with the talent of animal communications."

"You can talk to animals!?" the young woman exclaimed; but he only laughed at the question.

"I wish! No, I can just understand them by monitoring the stance, eyes, and breathing. When I know how they feel, I act accordingly to let them relax, to be comfortable in my presence. I will admit though; I was caught off-guard the first-time Bessie showed herself, since she was the first oddity I'd met here in Gravity Falls. As I grew comfortable with the charming creatures of the town, I understood why only I tend to the Gendinator family: 'Everyone else freaks out.'"

Mabel didn't have to think about it; any normal person would take one look at the creatures of Gravity Falls and lock themselves away forever, or get dragged to a mental asylum for their claims. The outside world just didn't understand how to deal with the supernatural, but sometimes there were people who could, such as herself, Dipper, and Grunkle Stan. All her other friends lived in the town, so they had some exposure to it, even if they didn't know it.

A light clink of plates later and Mabel was staring at half a dozen pancakes, mixed berries, sugar, and a glass of orange juice. Wasting no time, she dove right into the sweet mountain. Only a bite in, the sound of footsteps came echoing down the stairs followed by Grenda, with Candy at her heels.

"Where are the Pancakes Denis?!" Grenda asked, acting like a bloodhound over a fox den. The butler turned back to the stove for a moment and held out two more plates full of fluffy breakfast and berries; "Right here ma'am, and for Ms. Chiu as well."

"Woo-hoo!" Candy exclaimed as she took a seat beside Mabel, followed by Grenda. The trio happily chewed their way through the morning with gossip and planning.

"So, what exactly is the plan today Mabel?" Grenda asked.

"Hrm…how about we go to the mall and buy some presents? We all got some cash from Dipper, why not spend it!" the brunette proposed, waving her fork around like a wand.

"I'm game. I still haven't thought about what I want for the holidays. Maybe some new computer software, or hardware…or both!" Candy laughed. Grenda laughed awkwardly with her, though Mabel knew Grenda was as technical as herself; which meant she was laughing for the sake of it.

"We should probably get shipping for the larger stuff, anything else we can carry by hand," Candy continued finishing the last of her juice. "Though a little help would be appreciated," the young woman looked to the butler and smiled. Grenda saw the grin on her pal's face and knew what she was implying. The lady of the house, being herself, stood up, cleared her throat, and spoke; "Denis, will you accompany us to the local mall to assist in our plans?"

Mabel watched the man hunch slightly and sigh. He knew exactly what was in store for him and dreaded it so; but he turned around and agreed. "Always ready to pull the hard yards, eh?" the brunette asked, slouching back in her seat.

"No, different from back home…except I get paid," he chuckled. "Once you are ready to go, inform me and I shall follow," he announced to Grenda. Proceeding to clean up after the young women and complete some last-minute chores, the butler left the trio.

Climbing back up to Grenda's room, Mabel began asking her besties if they had seen the animals that came for breakfast with Denis. When she found that neither had, Mabel informed them of the crazy bovine that she'd observed only an hour ago.

"I'm sure that if we ask him, he'll set up some way of viewing her. It'll be like a private tour at the zoo!" Her friends really liked the idea of seeing another mysterious beast that was calm enough to be approached. A holler later from Grenda and all were at the door, where a taxi was waiting for them.

"You don't have a chauffeur?" Candy asked sneakily pointing at their companion dressed in black.

"Nope, not legal in America. Plus, he walks everywhere," Grenda concluded as she made for the vehicle. "And if you have any questions just ask him yourself! Denis doesn't get offended easily," she shouted loudly, causing Candy to turn red, since all were now aware who she was talking about.

/

At the mall, the group made their way from store to store, adding to their plunder, bag by bag. Mabel noticed that Grenda had only one or two gifts for herself, while she'd had a present for everyone else checked off her list.

"Hey Grenda; how would you like to go somewhere really special?" Mabel asked, hoping to excite her pal.

"Yeah! Marius buys me all sorts of stuff whenever he comes to town, so doing something that he's unaware of would be refreshing," she replied, getting ready for whatever Mabel had in store for her. Mabel would take her little group to go see Matti; a store owner who came for the various holidays in Gravity Falls.

"Dipper found this store about three years ago, during Valentine's Day. He told me all these crazy things about the place, but I didn't believe him. Until he took me there. Oh man, did I feel like an idiot; but that was in the past," the brunette rambled as she led the way. Soon they stood before a small store, a space rented just for the occasion.

"It's not what I imagined; some sort of thrift store?" Candy asked, cocking her head to the side.

"Wait until you go inside," Mabel grinned holding out her arm towards the door, in a very regal fashion causing their pack-mule/butler to chuckle. "I appears to be a crowded space, so I shall remain outside with the majority of the purchases," the man announced, for the convenience of the younger women. They happily left their things against the side of the store and proceeded inside.

Mabel laughed as he two best friends were dumbstruck by Matti's many inventions and decorations. Grenda watched silver figurines of reindeer dance around the table-tops while Candy held onto Mabel for fear of passing out. The shelves were filled with fantastic trinkets and toys that were evidentially created though some form of magic.

The door behind the main counter opened and the ring of a bell drew the girls' attention. "Mabel Pines! You better not be kidnapping my little reindeer or there will be consequences," the figure called out, enjoying the joke which may have a nugget of truth given Mabel's history with small adorable critters.

"Candy, Grenda; meet Matti, the creator of all the things in this shop," Mabel introduced the blue haired woman in all her steam-punky glory.

"Nice to finally meet'cha! Mabel always tells me about her pals, but outside of the Winter holidays, I don't hang around very long. Anyway, what can I do for you all today?" she asked leaning up against her counter. Mabel looked to her friend who were lost in the shelves, examining every object carefully.

"I think they're fine with the normal stuff. I, however, was wondering if you had something special for me?" the giddy youth asked, leaning face to face with the constructor.

"Oh? And what exactly are you looking for?"

"Some tools to decorate the house; it's going under renovation, so I'll only start decorating just before Christmas. I was hoping that you would have an enchanted glue-gun or something?" Mabel proposed.

"Well, I do have something actually, though I'd never give it to just anyone. You and your brother however, have always been special cases with magic so…" Matti reached under the counter and pulled out; a mallet and swiss-army knife. Mabel smiled at the tools; as an artist, she could appreciate the use of the objects. "I'd have the boys wrap them up nicely but they're on break."

"I love them," Mabel proclaimed, running her hand over the mallet; "But how much?"

Matti looked at the tools, then to her customer, then back to the tools. "$750, and they're all yours." Mabel looked surprised; she could easily afford it thanks to Dipper's pay-out, but even the living silver reindeer were only $100 for eight. "There must be something really special about these," she thought to herself.

After the trio had made their payments, and Grenda had purchased nearly an entire wall of enchanted items, they wished the shopkeeper well and made for the exit.

"I think that's everything on my list; how about you guys?" Grenda asked stacking a tower of bags into the arms of her butler. One bag in particular was radiating yellow/orange, which he requested not be placed near his face in the loot tower.

"I just want to check out the tech shop on the ground floor before we go," Candy said, as she looked at her purchases from Matti's shop with a smile.

"Onwards then!" Mabel announced, skipping towards the escalators with her friends, while the unfortunate assistant paced slowly behind to prevent involvement in any incidents. On the ground-floor, Mabel looked around for the store Candy wanted; "Tech store, tech store, tech…"

While she was scanning her surroundings, the brunette locked onto a pair of hazel eyes; belonging to a face she knew all too well. Dipper, and beside him was Wendy. Mabel couldn't stop her cheeks from pulling into a smile when she saw the dread in her brother's eyes. "Time to do what I do best; embarrass my nerd of a brother in front of his crush!"

The fuzzy minded youth, bolted for the pair, followed by her entourage. Some attempted teasing later and Candy wanted to get her stuff, so Mabel allowed her brother to escape…for now, before reminding him to visit Matti before he leaves with his 'Girlfriend.'

As her group set out, Mabel watched her brother and Wendy go arm in arm towards Matti's. Grenda flagged down a taxi, as Denis had both hands occupied with their monument of gifts, carefully balanced in his arms. The girls jumped into the back of the vehicle while the driver helped with the luggage.

"So, was Matti's shop the bomb, or what?" Mabel asked, head in hand with an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah! I can't believe that you've never taken us to see her before!" Grenda exclaimed waving her arms around the small space. Candy laughed and agreed; while she was more into science and technology, the enchanted gift shop did have a special feeling to it.

When the two men joined them in the car, Grenda gave her address and they were off. During the ride, the trio discussed the gifts they had purchased. The driver wasn't sure what to make of their conversation, but looking at the calm demeanour of the gent beside him was enough to still his mind and assume it was just exaggerations.

"Hey Mabel, remember what you told us this morning, about the 'visitors' that Denis was feeding? Any chance we could get a glimpse?" Candy whispered into the brunette's ear. Mabel shrugged, all she could do was ask, there was no assurance. But if Grenda asked, their chances were far higher, since an order from the boss was important. So she whispered the plan to her.

"Hey Denis?" Grenda began; "Will you be feeding our visitors from the forest this evening?" A thumbs-up from Candy and Mabel affirmed her lines.

The butler looked at them in the reflective mirror, then to the driver. "Yes, ma'am. I do often feed the deer before sundown."

Mabel decided to butt-in; "We were hoping you would let us get close while you were feeding Bessie!" There was silence, though the girls watched their elder intently.

"Okay…but you do exactly as I say." There was a heaviness to his tone, this wasn't something he was comfortable with. "Agreed," the girls said in unison, and went back to their chit-chat.

/

Back at the Gendinator mansion, the group had taken their bags inside and packed according to owner; which was mainly a large pile for Grenda, a medium pile for Candy, and Mabel's pile, with her special bag from Matti's left to the side. The three girls watched from the kitchen as Denis lay out various bowls of fruit and treats along the steps, while leaving handfuls along the path to the woods.

"All right, come on out ladies," he called. "Now, each of you, please sit beside a bowl around the steps," he explained, pointing to three locations, about twenty feet apart. "In each bowl, there are a few treats, but at the bottom are slow roasted apples that I store in the pantry jars. These are Bessie's favourite, so don't feed them to the others."

The trio dispersed and sat by their respective goodies, awaiting further instructions. The butler, happy with their positions began to whistle a song. Mabel guessed it was from his home country, because of the tune; nothing modern heard on the radio. Slowing the girls noticed the forest come to life as animals began to walk up to the gardens, occasionally ducking down and enjoying the piles of scattered berries Denis had dropped.

"Okay, call them softly by clicking your tongues," the butler called not too loud, and began walking towards them.

Doing as they were told, the young began making sounds with their tongues, and soon a good half dozen deer were around them, budging them for fruit. The girls were more than happy to oblige. After a minute, the stranger creatures began to arrive, happy that the new humans were not a threat, but rather additional sources of sweet food. First came the six-legged boars, then woolly frogs and even a large porcupede, though Denis kept it away from the girls, by distracting it with honey covered strawberries.

A familiar wail came from the trees, yet none of the animals were startled as Bessie came pacing out of the woods, with her wings neatly folded and her large paws lightly crunching the soft snow. He first approach was relaxed, causing the porcupede to scuttle away as the larger beast approached the butler. Bessie received a soft kiss on the nose and was given a whole roasted apply to chew.

"Mabel, stand up slowly and hold out the apple," he announced, rubbing the beast's neck. The brunette did as she was told, causing the deer to back up a moment. Bessie caught sight of her and opened her wings in a defensive stance; but soon saw the treat in her hand. When her human friend began to walk toward the unfamiliar face, Bessie relaxed a little and followed him.

The deer decided to try their luck among the piles of berries around the garden, rather than block the large winged-bovine. Bessie soon stood right before Mabel, though Denis was between them. "Flat hand, Ms. Pines, flat hand," he said watching Bessie carefully. As she did, the large beast happily vacuumed up the treat with a happy snort.

Denis sighed with relief, there was no accidents. Mabel gave Bessie a scratch behind her ears before she walked over to Candy. Bessie followed her new friend, but still cautious. Were it not for the butler, none of them would get close to Bessie, and if they somehow managed to, it would no doubt end badly. Candy followed the instructions and received an affectionate lick from the large animal, but returned to feeding the smaller animals and the deer while Grenda got her turn.

As the sun finally set and the mansion's lights switched on in the gardens, the group were nearly out of fruit and most of the animals had left for the night, with the exception of Bessie, who lounged across the patio, surrounding her black-clothed friend from the night air.

"I think it's about time we finished for the night. It's getting cold," Denis called out, drawing the gaze of the trio and the animals they were petting. They began to walk up to the house when a large white stag walked out from the bushes. Candy turned to face the creature and scraped up the last of the fruit in her bowl, before walking up to it.

"Friend of yours coming late to the party?" Mabel asked, nudging the butler in the side; but his face was hard and his eyes focused.

"That's not any stag I recognise. Why is it coming out so late?" he mumbled, fixated on the beast. Suddenly Bessie began to bellow and flap her wings, making tremendous amounts of noise.

"Something's wrong!" Denis said, and began to run for the small Asian girl. Mabel and Grenda ran after him, screaming at Candy. The young woman looked to see them running for her, and turned back to face the stag. Before she could react, a large pair of antlers punted the poor girl into the air and towards Mabel. Denis tried to catch her lightly, though she'd just been rag-dolled. Mabel watched the deer in horror, as its eyes turned black, its jaw opened disgustingly wide with jagged, chipped teeth; and its head twitched and spasm as it approached.

A dark laugh echoed from the monster's lungs, and thick tar oozed from its mouth. "You haven't returned the ring~~" the voiced droned loud through the air. "All because your selfish brother holds the relic for himself~~"

Mabel stood shaking in fear and rage; was this another of Chaos' creatures, was this her fault for letting Dipper keep the ring? Looking at her friend being carried back to the house, she turned to the horrific being.

"You think you can manipulate me! I know you try to mess with our heads, just like you did with Dipper! But I know! I know you're trying to get to me because you're scared of us, that we ca stop you!" she screamed.

The writhing stag, hobbled towards her; its very existence tearing itself apart but being stuck back together by the disgusting goo. "This could have been avoided~~. I offered you twin salvation for all of you~~. AND HE DECLINED!" the voice thundered, causing Mabel to wobble against its force. "AND NOW! Now, I claim you lives~~. One by one~~. When you are all lying dead, and your pathetic bother realizes it was his fault~~, I WILL MAKE HIM BEG FOR DEATH!" the voice boomed, followed by sick laughed, like the stag was hacking up its own lungs involuntarily. "Enough; you will be the first~~" the voice announced and faded.

The beast, now more corruption than stag, lowered its jagged horns at Mabel and swung its neck, narrowly missing the young woman's head, causing her to fall back. It approached shakily trying to impale her to the ground with its bony weapons, just falling short as she scampered backwards. Reaching a wall, Mabel had nowhere else to dodge to and raised her hands in a last resort. A hard crack to the side of the stag's face caused it to screech and hiss. Grenda was firing rocks at the monster in an attempted distraction. The beast's lower jaw had been smack clean off, causing a large flow of black pus mixed with blood to pour to the ground.

A hand grabbed Mabel's arm, pulling her from under the stag, desperately moving her to safety. "Ms. Pines, please get to the house and take care of Ms. Chiu; call an ambulance if you must!" Denis panted, dragging her to her feet and directing her towards the house. As Mabel ran up to the house, Grenda continued to throw rocks at the beast.

"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!" Mabel gasped as she leapt through the doorway inside. On the was Candy unconscious, and shuddering. There was time for panic later, Candy needed help; so, Mabel swallowed hard and examined her friend. It was nothing too serious, Candy was lucky, only some minor lacerations and a few puncture holes in her left arm. Mabel turned to get some first-aid supplies and jumped, not noticing that Bessie had been behind her watching Candy.

"She'll be okay girl, just some grazes," Mabel spoke softly, mainly to calm herself down. She could still her Grenda shouting insults from outside, and hoped that there was some sort of plan in play. The brunette grabbed some supplies from under the sink and got to work on her friend; some ointment and bandage should last until an ambulance arrived later.

"Get away from him!" Grenda hollered from the patio. Mabel ran outside to observe the scene, and rock in each hand. The corrupt animal had cornered the butler and was out of Grenda's range. Mabel watched as the stag aimed at the man, confident that he was finished. Mabel shouted and threw her rocks, and while they fell short, the beast turned around to face her. The horror looked her in the eyes, and the laugher returned, far more disturbing since the lower jaw was missing. Not looking away from her, the beast kicked back strong; letting an awful cracking sound to flow up the garden, followed by a soft thud as the butler fall to the earth face first.

Grenda screamed furiously, but before she could act, a flash of grey flew by as Bessie slammed into the stag from the side, black blood spraying against her wings. But the monster didn't go down, as the broken limbs healed badly and incorrectly as the bones twisted in and out of place. The large animals pushed and struggled in combat; and while Bessie had her claws, wings, and horns; the corrupt stag seemed immortal. Not knowing what else to do, Grenda grabbed a shovel and charged to help the bovine. Mabel looked for a something to help but couldn't see anything. "Wait! The mallet!" she shouted at herself and ran back inside the house; digging into her bag from Matti's store and pulling out the tool.

Mabel ran down the gardens, overcome with rage at the beast. As she ran she could see that Grenda was being pushed back towards Denis' limp body, while Bessie stood just behind her trying to protect him from stay swings. The stag smacked the shovel from Grenda's grasp and lowered its head again. The young woman stepped back and Bessie raised her wings in a final attempt to stop the assault.

"HEY! GET AWAY FROM THEM YOU BASTARD!" Mabel yelled, only steps away.

But the beast didn't turn to her this time. "Watch now~~, as your friends die~~, because you couldn't stop one beast~~" the voice rang, and echoes floated about repeating: "All your fault, all your fault~"

Mabel had had enough, with the last of her effort, she charged the being, smashing the mallet against its hip bone. The stag howled in pain, and glanced at a large crack in its form, glowing bright blue. "NO~~~!" the voice of erupted, but Mabel didn't care and continued to beat the monster, again and again and again, each strike even harder than the last. After over fifty hits on the beast, it fell to its knees, covered in glowing cracks, like an old worn painting.

"You think you've won~~? I will not be stopped~~, soon you will fail~~, and this world will BURN~~~!" the voice screamed one last time before Mabel dealt the final blow to its skull, breaking through its crown of antlers and cracking open its head. A moment of silence before the creature exploded into tiny fragments of glass on the ground, and a wisp of black smoke rose into the sky.

Mabel stood panting and sweating, her arms hanging by her sides, sore from the exertion. Grenda nodded at her before rolling her butler onto his side. He coughed blood up and moaned, while she leaned him up against a tree.

"That brings back memories," he chuckled. The girls just looked at him, guessing in what possible way their last few minutes could be related to. "It's been nearly eight years since I was last kicked by a horse, but that one got me good. I'd say about ten broken ribs; shit." There was silence for a moment before the girls began to laugh; he'd always been so polite and well spoken, and no longer caring thanks to the pain he was in, made light of the mood.

"Candy will never believe that you said 'shit'!" Mabel spoke between laughs.

"Just call the damn ambulance; or two," he grumbled, trying not to move, but Bessie was brushing against, and leaning on him, happy her friend was somewhat okay.

Grenda went inside and rang the emergency services, explaining there had been an animal attack on her property and to have theatre ready; money was no problem.

Mabel looked at the mallet, stuck in her grasp, then to the forest. "I'm gonna have to call up Dipper and have a chat about this business; and then see Matti about this mallet. God, I wonder is the swiss-army knife is enchanted as well; ugh, I just wanted a normal Christmas! I'd even settle for 5/10 on the weird scale," she thought, shaking her head in exhaustion.

* * *

 **Hoop-la! This was Mabel's side of the last two chapters for anyone who still isn't clear, since now she wasn't just sitting on her ass for a chapter! Hope everyone still enjoys this, cause I sure am!**

 **As always; big thanks to the reviewers, but bigger thanks to the people who actively message me about the story - when you guys make guesses and give ideas, they help me extend the story and answer any questions you may have in coming chapters.**

 **Special thanks; Geekngroom for her amazing influence and assistance in each chapter: check out her stuff; amazingly in depth: Worlds Apart! FullMetalKhaos for being a bro in a time when bro's are needed, and for helping me mess with my characters brains in different ways! Check out his stuff for super long, super sexy action in Gravity Falls: Written in the Stars**

 **Huge thanks to everyone, from those you been here from the start, to those who have just started reading.**

 **STAY CLASSY!**

 **TGGDSD**


	15. Chapter 15

A Spark of Hope

Ch.15

Dipper and Wendy walked through the front doors of the hospital, asking for directions to room 041. Mabel had called Dipper last night and told him of her struggle with the corrupt stag, and how ambulances were taking Candy and Denis, Grenda's butler. He in return explained his encounter with another of Chaos' shades.

When Dipper spoke of Wendy and the blue wings, Mabel spoke of her last assault where Matti's mallet was the only thing that could harm the stag. Dipper tried to come over, but Mabel told him that he wouldn't be helping since the paramedics would arrive soon, and that she'd see him in the morning when this had settled down. He reluctantly agreed and spent the night with Wendy, though neither slept at the same time, taking shifts to keep an ear out for any approaching danger.

Inside room 041, Mabel sloughed in a chair next to Grenda. Candy lay in the hospital bed, a bandage around her puncture wound. The door opened and Dipper stepped inside and embraced his sister, who began to choke up. Her friend had gotten hurt, and she hadn't even seen the older man who'd saved her from a brutal demise since he was placed into an ambulance. Wendy placed an arm on Grenda's shoulder in an attempt to comfort the younger woman.

"They won't let us in to see Denis," Grenda said, barely audible, "Doc says he's in no state for anyone, miracle he stayed conscious as long as he did." The red-head gave her a squeeze, but there was nothing else she could do. Light coughing sounded from Candy as she began to rouse. Unsure of her surroundings, but calmed by the sight of her friends, the girl noticed the various patches on her body, and began to recall her last moments in the gardens.

Mabel had to resist the urge to leap on to her friend in case she opened her wounds. Knowing that Candy as okay was enough to ease some of the tension out, though Grenda still feared for her butler. While she was nothing like the Northwest family from years ago, she realised that perhaps she wasn't being a good employer. She rarely thanked Denis for the usual things like washing clothes, preparing breakfast or organising her events for her. A tight knot formed in the young woman's gut; it was guilt.

The gang began to fill Candy in on the events that had occurred after she passed out. The poor youth was mortified upon the conclusion of Mabel's story.

"Perhaps it's time we revisited Matti and got some things straightened out," Dipper proposed to Mabel, who nodded, relieved that Candy was recovering.

"We should try and see Denis before we go; Grenda, you come too," the brunette declared. Grenda stood and moved with purpose out of the room, telling Candy she'd return soon. At the help desk, they asked for the butler's room number, but the nurses were adamant to give it up; until Dipper got tired of negotiating and bribed them $500 each to tell him. Quickly and quietly the group was lead up to the second floor and into a restricted part of the building.

"You have fifteen-twenty minutes maximum; don't leave until I return to get you or there will be serious trouble," the short woman announced before pointing to the last door in the hall: room 201.

Dipper opened the door calmly and gestured for the others to enter. Mabel and Grenda were first, himself and Wendy followed. Grenda gasped and held Mabel's hand, the sight was very difficult for her, for them all. Denis lay in his bed, hooked up to two machines that monitored his vitals, and three drips of different coloured fluids leading into his arms. He looked at peace, though the images above his monitor shows massive damage to his chest. The two younger girls pulled up chairs to the bedside, and tried to wake him gently. Wendy tried to hold it together, though the thought of Mabel, Dipper or any of her friends in such a state because of Chaos was a heavy weight on her mind. The lumberjill went to hold her necklace to calm herself, but remembered that Dipper had it sealed since the shade had been trapped inside it.

After a minute of gentle nudging the older man blinked slowly, taking in his surroundings. He saw the hazel eyes of two faces he knew so well leaning over him, worried looks across their faces.

"I'm not dead yet, so I expect my Christmas bonus," he joked tiredly. It was enough to bring a grin to everyone's faces.

"Tough SOB aren't you?" Wendy said leaning back against the wall. A healthy laugh came from the man, a sign he wasn't at death's door.

"Do me a favour, as I can't seem to leave this bed; open the window please, Ms. Corduroy?" he asked turning to the pane of glass. Wendy obliged, and did so, only for a brown blur to swish by land on the head of Denis's bed.

"A hawktopus!" Dipper exclaimed, "Why did it fly in here, I've never seen one outside of the forests." But nobody answered, they just watched the odd flying-cephalopod coo happily at the butler's touch; so Dipper just examined some of the medical charts as not to stare.

"Hey buddy, sorry about your breakfast, I'm a little tied up right now. Grenda, when you leave, buy a tuna sandwich from the canteen and call him down, somewhere quiet."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Mabel asked, cautious to leave him alone for the rest of the day.

"Trust me I'm fine. No different from usual, only more time in bed," Denis replied, though it brought some concern to Grenda.

Before anyone else could speak, the hawktopus flopped to the floor and flapped out the window seconds before the door opened and the short nurse announced their time was up. Grenda gave the man a hug and said she would try to return later if they allowed. Mabel asked one last time if he would be okay.

"As long as that window is left open, I'll have plenty of visitors," he whispered to prevent the nurse from hearing. As they finally left, the door was closed and Denis lay back once more.

"Well, well, well. Not often a mortal survives an encounter with one of my beasts with their own two hands," a voice teased from the end of the bed.

Denis didn't even look, he knew that it was the Chaos figure Grenda had spoken of with Mabel and Candy not two nights ago. The sound of footsteps approached to the side of the bed, where a dark clothed figure with crimson eyes stared into the patient's. There was silence for a moment, then Chaos smirked.

/

As the group proceeded out Wendy could tell the girls were relieved to see their friend still alive and kicking. Grenda wished them luck in their meeting with Matti, and went to buy food for the hawktopus, as requested. While her butler was recovering, she would have to do her share of the work at home, and continue feeding the wildlife twice a day. It was the least she could do.

"He is very lucky you know," Dipper spoke to Mabel as they made way for Gravity Falls Mall.

"I know. Animals attacks are bad, but demonic animals are just too much. We need to find out how Matti can help and put a stop to Chaos." She spoke softly, but the venom in her voice was clear; nobody else would get hurt if she could help it.

"Not just that," Dipper continued, "I read his charts while his friend flew in the window. He is on a lot of medication, even before the attack. I don't even know how he would function without them; his body would deteriorate at an accelerated rate. I assume he only started taking the medication in the last five years or so."

Mabel looked at her twin in confusion, so he continued to explain; "You know the way, he's only a little older than Wendy, but his already going grey? That's because without the medication his body operates twice as fast."

Wendy listened intently. I was a double-edged sword; faster thinking, faster growing, faster recovery from illness and injury; but at the cost of a far shorter lifespan.

The mall was within sight, and they began to quicken their pace. They needed answer, fast.

/

"You have soulless eyes, like the light died long ago. Why do you continue to live?" the shadowy man asked, gazing out the hospital window.

"Because I can," Denis responded dryly. He didn't wish to engage with the monster before him, but he had no choice.

Quickly Chaos turned, shadows filled the air and he leaned over the injured butler. "You have no idea what I can do, mortal! I could change you into one of my pawns, like that stag you fought with. How do you feel about killing your friends against your will, hm?"

He sighed, and looked the ancient being in the eyes once more, tired. If Chaos decided to kill him here, there was nothing he could do, why panic and struggle? The anger rose in the god, and his true face began to reveal itself; horrid bone and fire held the wraith's head without need of a body. "Well then, removing you now would save me quite some time, wouldn't it?"

He waved his hand towards the door and two nurses limped in like puppets on strings. Their eyes pitch black, and seemed unconscious, yet their bodies were under the control of Chaos.

"I never enjoy getting my hands dirty, it always ends too quickly," he said touching the bouquet of flowers on the night stand. They withered immediately and fell to black ash. "Have fun," he smiled menacingly and left in a black mist through the window.

The zombified pair, dragged themselves over towards both sides of their patient, one pressed buttons on the machines while the other took a firm grip on the IV lines and pulled hard…

/

Dipper knocked hard on the wooden door before him. There were few people in the mall, with Christmas nearly here, everyone was preparing their homes and food. He knocked again, calling out for anyone to open the door. Eventually footsteps were heard, the door eased open, and three gnomes stood with their arms crossed.

"It says closed! What is so important?" Jeff asked tapping his foot impatiently.

"We need to see Matti now," Mabel stated as she pushed past the little men, "Where is she?"

Jeff looked to the others, and nervously replied; "She's, uh, out, yeah, she's out right now. Come back tomorrow." Nobody was buying it, and of all people, Wendy was the first to act. The red-head picked up the gnome and began to express her thoughts.

"Listen here little-britches, I've been through hell the last few days, nearly got killed twice, witnessed two people hospitalised, and you're telling us to wait another day before taking action?"

"Okay, okay!" Jeff rose his hands in defence. "Look, I'd like to help, but we don't know when the boss will be back. It varies, but there's no helping it. You can wait here but I can't promise anything."

Happy with this, the lumberjill let the gnome down and sat on one of the couches by the window. Mabel joined her, while Dipper got lost in thought, occasionally tapping his pockets to ensure both the necklace and the Prophet's Ring were still safe. Some time passed, around an hour, when the back door of the shop opened and out stepped Matti, surprised to see the trio.

"Well this is unsuspected, I hope you're not here to return products," the inventor chuckled, but straightened up upon noticing the grim looks on their faces.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?" the concerned woman asked, staring intently at Dipper.

"I'll start from the beginning…" Dipper spoke for minutes, occasionally interrupted by one of the girls who gave details or their view at the time. He explained finding the ring, the battle with Eris and the spear of light, Wendy's fight with Chaos, and Mabel's story with her friends and the demon beast. While the events of the last week were narrated, Matti listened intently, nodding occasionally. When Mabel finished with their visit to the hospital, the woman ran her hands through her sky-blue hair and looked at her feet.

After a long silence, Wendy spoke; "So are you able to tell us why your stuff can stop Chaos from executing us?"

"I think it would be easier to show you," she replied. Beckoning them closer to the back door of the shop, Matti traced her finger over the door face, in a circular symbol. It began to glow softly, then intensely until there was no door, but a blue swirling vortex. Matti stepped through leaving the gang to follow.

"Well, here goes nothing," Dipper announced standing just before the portal, examining it, only to be pushed through by Mabel; "Move it Dipper, get the show on the road!" Wendy looked back to the gnomes, giving her a thumbs' up, she held her breath and stepped forward causing the vortex to close behind her in a flash.

When her vision cleared, Wendy was awestruck by the land before her, as were the twins just in front of her. Plains of grass, floating islands, animals, and plants of unbelievable descriptions covered every space neatly.

"It's like something from my old story books," Mabel muttered, caught off-guard at the sight.

Matti was nowhere to be seen, though there was a path before them of coloured gemstones. Just down a minute of walking lead the trio to a structure. Seven pillars of different coloured crystal converged onto one point, a marble throne. Upon it sat a figure, a face they recognised, yet different.

"Welcome to my realm, Dipper Pines, Mabel Pines and Wendy Corduroy. Humans have many names for this place, but the most fitting is Eden," Matti spoke, though her voice left an echo when she spoke. Dipper approached the throne, where the person he considered a friend smiled at him but with a sadness in her eyes. She no longer wore her steam-punk overalls, instead a white robe with gold plate armour around the chest and wrists. Her skin was not pale, but instead bronze with glowing blue hair and patterns across her face, arms, even down to her feet

"I'm sure you've guessed by now Dipper, but I am who you are looking for," Matti spoke, standing up as the mortals approached her.

"Wow! And I thought you'd gotten tall," Wendy laughed nervously gripping Dipper's arm. The Matti she'd met only the other night saw eye to eye with the lumberjill, but what stood before her was a ten-foot-tall giantess.

"You're Order." Dipper said, his mind's gears working, trying to come up with the right questions. Deciding to start easy he asked; "Why the name Matti?"

The Goddess raised her palm level, and three seats of marble rose from under her guests, so they need not stand while she spoke. "You're aware of Egyptian Mythology?" she asked.

Dipper nodded, then face-palmed. The girls either side of him looked at him for the apparently obvious answer. Wendy also took myth as a study in college and didn't get the reference. Her boyfriend looked at her with thin lips; "Ma'at!"

The red-head sighed, and joined him in face-palming. The fuzzy brunette coughed, rolling her hand, signalling for an explanation.

"Ma'at. The ancient Egyptian word for order," Wendy explained. Now it seemed as obvious as a burning building.

"Okay, into the real reason since we're short on time. You are Order, then you must know of Chaos?" Dipper asked, leaning forward in his seat. At the mention of the name, Matti's fist clenched and a large crack split down her throne. Waving her hand, the damage vanished, and she walked up to Dipper.

"What do you know of Choas?" the Goddess asked, a concerned waver in her voice.

"Only that he's hell bent on fucking up our lives!" Mabel spoke, agitated at the memories of the demon.

"You told me of your confrontations with _it,_ but do you really know how he works?" Matti asked, her glowing hair draping over her shoulders as she leaned down. Mabel looked into her golden eyes, shaking her head in frustration.

"Dipper, please give me the necklace you brought with you," she asked, holding out her large hand. He did as he was asked, revealing the trinket, still holding the black substance within.

"You must understand, the existence of Chaos and Order are bound and weaved by their opposite," Matti began. "When I came into existence, I couldn't tell if we were born at the same time, or if I had come from the darkness of Chaos. That aside, I knew what my purpose was: to create order from the nothingness. This was when I learnt how our powers were linked."

"I created the first power, Matter; who would create for me, the universe and all its relative dimensions thus creating a multiverse. The moment I did this, Chaos created the force of Destruction; but rather than use it, Chaos learned its power for itself and then destroyed Destruction," continued the Goddess.

"But how can he do that?" Wendy asked, confused as to how one can destroy Destruction itself.

"Chaos took on the role of Destruction, and so it could destroy its own creation as to remain the dominant force. That is Choas' nature, even to corrupt itself. This continued as I used my power of creation, where I would create a force of order, Chaos would create a counter," Matti spoke with grief, remembering how her greatest gift lead to the greatest evil.

"After I created so much, Chaos began to do what Chaos does: corrupt. Order to Chaos, Creation to Destruction…Life to Death. My greatest failure, was the creation of Life. It was so beautiful, an ultimate good for the sake of Order; but Chaos saw Life, created his twisted copy, and named it Death. The only force Chaos cannot take into himself is Death, for Chaos doesn't live, just like myself. The forms you see are representations for mortals; our true forms cannot be comprehended by humans, but they aren't physical."

"I still don't understand where this is going, how does this help us stop him?" Mabel asked jumping out of her seat, pleading the Goddess for an answer.

Matti sighed. She put her hands together and created and hourglass from nothing, half filled with oil, half filled with air. Snapping her fingers, a ball of blue fire lit in the centre of the hourglass. The item floated before them and Matti began speaking again.

"What you see before you represents the balance of existence and non-existence. The fire is both Chaos and I. The air in one half is Chaos effect, the oil is that of Order, myself. If the fire is to burn, it needs the air to breath, just as Order requires Chaos to begin creating. Similarly if the fire is to burn it requires fuel, Chaos is pointless with Order to corrupt. Do you understand now?"

I sort of made sense, one cannot exist without the other. Any action has a mirrored action; if Order created a new force of good, Chaos would mirror it with an equal force. But that didn't explain why Chaos was desperately trying to kill them and reclaim the Prophet's Ring. Dipper decided he needed that explained most, but first Matti was yet to explain Wendy's necklace and Mabel's mallet.

"What effect does your items have on Chaos, really? He always sends a minion or monster to do his bidding, never himself; where as you have items that can fight those creatures?" Dipper verified, although unsure. "And what about the Prophet's Ring?"

The giantess pointed again to the hourglass; "Balance, children, balance. Everything you can comprehend was made by my power, yet only specific objects have an effect on the corruption. That is because Chaos tips the balance; by using his power. When I touched the necklace, it recharged so to speak, with Orderly Energy. This triggered a trap when Chaos' shade began using its Chaotic Energy to imprison you the dark sphere."

Now it was clear to everyone how the objects worked; if not for Matti's gifts, Chaos would have ended them long ago. The Goddess returned to her marble throne, taking a more serious tone.

"Now, about the Prophet's Ring. This item is very special, as it is the only object in existence that has been created by Chaos. It was fuelled with Chaotic Energy, but the power of Destruction wasn't included, directly anyway. When I discovered what had been created, I in turn had been granted a choice of equal power, yet I couldn't destroy it. I then decided rather than create an item of equal power, I would change the ring, creating a safeguard: Erin." At the mention of the name, a bright light shone through Dipper's coat, and a golden orb emerged before Matti

"Greetings, All-Maker," the voiced spoke, in its usual tone.

"The Prophet's Ring has all the power of Chaos, but it can be altered by the user for a greater good. That is Erin's job; to guide the ring-bearers away from corruption," Matti finished sending the glowing guide back into the relic of origin.

"So that's why he wants the ring back; he knows that Dipper won't be corrupted like the others, making him a serious threat," Wendy deduced from the explanation. "If Matti tries anything, it can be countered, but if Dipper uses the ring; Chaos had just shot himself in the foot!"

"You must be warned," the Goddess spoke, her marking glowing brightly; "While the ring can disrupt Chaos for some time, if can never truly destroy him. If you use his powers too long the Chaotic Energy will seep into your very being. You will no longer be in control of the power it wields, leading to immeasurable consequences. Erin, keep the mortal safe, he mustn't fall to corruption."

The ring glowed brightly and shone anew; it's black colour had changed to a radiant gold, while it's blue gem became crimson red.

"Upgrade. Nice!" Wendy said, eyeing the relic in Dipper's palm.

"One last thing before you leave," Matti called out. The giantess reached up and pulled out a strand of her blue hair, which turned into a string of icy beads, about ten. "These are emergency recalibrates. They act like the anti-Chaos items I gave you, only single use. Smash one on the ground and it will purge any corruption or shades for a thirty-foot radius, though not on Chaos himself."

Mabel took the beads and stuffed them into her pocket; "Thanks Matti, can I still call you that?" she asked nervously. The Goddess laughed and smiled; "Of course!"

With a nod of her head, the blue vortex between Earth and Eden appeared; "Now off with you, I'm sorry I can't help you more but it would disturb the balance greatly."

Mabel and Wendy walked through the portal, waving to their divine friend. Dipper followed, but turned around just before the vortex.

"A few days ago, when we fought Eris. She said that she was a divine being as well. Do you have any divines who can assist us in the fight against Chaos?" he asked.

"It is true, Eris was a lesser divine, created by Chaos as an agent of his wrath. But you are already under the guidance of my divine. Eros will guide you, do not falter," the Goddess spoke approaching the young man.

"Eros?" Dipper asked.

"Love," Matti said, and warped the vortex around him.

/

When his vision adjusted, Dipper nearly threw up. He was back in the shop beside his sister and girlfriend. However, the sight before them was ghastly; the store was ransacked, black marks covered every other step, claw marks burnt into the walls.

"What happened here!?" Wendy asked, covering her mouth in shock.

Heavy coughing sounded from behind them. Jeff the gnome lay against the wall, eyes bruised and bones broken. He was in really bad shape. Mabel knelt beside him, causing him to flinch in fear until he recognised who it was.

"M-m-man…" he tried to speak, "B-black c-c-coat…m-m-m-monster…" and then he fell unconscious. Mabel looked behind her where two sets of clothes, gnome size, lay atop piles of ash. A buzz came from her pocket, and her inbox was full of missed calls and messages from Grenda, Candy, and even Gideon. More buzzing came from Wendy and Dipper, who also had received the messages.

Mabel began to sob, and Wendy hugged her tightly. Dipper watched, unmoved. He didn't know what to do, what could he do. A bright blue light shone behind them and Matti stepped through in human form. She looked around her shop, then to the gnome. She stood over the little man, and dropped tears onto his face. The bones began to mend and the bruising heal, though he still lay sleeping.

"It's time to end this, once and for all," Dipper said, holding the Prophet's Ring tight in his fist.

* * *

 **And so another chapter down, the end is within sight everyone, but don't worry; there's still a few more chapters to go!**

 **I'm saving the shoutouts for the final chapter as a special thanks to everyone who stayed with the story.**

 **Special thanks to Geekngroom and FullMetalKhaos for their support and inspiration. Check out their stories, also Gravity Falls and way better than this one!**

 **And A big thank you to BIuefish, who's currently working on awesome cover-art for the story, you're a huge influence for getting to to finish chapters.**

 **Well, that's all I have to say this time; any questions send to the PM box, express your thoughts in the reviews section etc, etc, etc.**

 **As Always, Stay Classy People!**

 **TGGDSD.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Apologies for the late release, life is getting in the way, but I have the plans to finish the story soon. So without further adieu...**

A Spark of Hope

Ch.16

Dipper stood, Wendy and Mabel kneeling over the injured gnome.

"Children, you must go soon," Matti spoke, her fists glowing with energy; "The longer you wait, the more damage Chaos will cause. I will restore the others after you return."

"Why can't you bring them back now!?" Mabel sniffed, anger holding back her tears.

Waving her hand, the ancient summoned the universal hourglass again; "This attack has balanced the forces of Order and Chaos. If I were to bring them back from death, the scales will be tipped in Chaos' favour."

"She's right Mabel; there are more important things right now," Wendy said, helping her friend to her feet.

 _BZZZ, BZZZ, BZZZ_

Dipper's phone vibrated, a call coming through.

"It's…...Gideon?" he looked to Wendy before answering. The sound of panicking voices came through the speakers. Gideon, Grenda, and Candy could be heard in a frantic state;

"Why aren't they picking up? Where are they? W-Wait I got through! Dipper? Dipper are you there?" It's Gideon, you have to get back to the hospital ASAP."

The phone cut out, and before anyone could say a word, Mabel made for the exit at high speed. Wendy ran after her, followed by Dipper, leaving Matti to tend to her helper with first aid.

/

Inside Gravity Falls hospital, Gideon, Grenda and Candy sat around room 201. Candy had been given the all clear to leave, but decided to stay put until the others arrived. Reluctantly the doctors had agreed, after all they weren't many patients left being Christmas Eve.

Mabel was the first to burst through the door, out of breath, but relived to see her friends okay. Wendy arrived after, and about a minute passed before Dipper arrived exhausted.

"Where were you guys? We couldn't contact you for the last few hours!" Gideon exclaimed. Confused Dipper looked at the clock on the wall; it had in fact been hours. "Time must run differently inside Eden," he figured.

"What's wrong that you've been trying to contact us?" Wendy asked, taken aback by the grim faces.

"There have been attacks…intense ones," Candy spoke softly.

"W-What do you mean? Who was attacked?" Mabel asked, fear gripping her stomach as the words left her mouth.

"Who hasn't?" Grenda mumbled, staring at the ground, her hands clenched tight to the arms of her chair.

"A lot of people have been hurt; and taken, Dipper," Gideon explained. The youth took out a pouch from beneath his coat, containing photographs. They were mortifying to say the least. Dipper flicked through them, his face growing more pale with every picture. Wendy caught sight of some, and had to resist the urge to throw up. She could see people she knew; unconscious, battered, cut, and black veins rising through their skin, a sign of corrupt magic, Chaos magic. As Dipper continued to look, sadness became pure fury as pictures of Pacifica, Tambry, Robbie, Tomson, McGucket, Sheriff Blubs, even old Lazy Susan. He had to contain himself though, for Mabel's sake; if she saw the photos, they would break her.

"What else can you tell us?" Dipper asked, stuffing the pictures into his breast pocket.

Gideon walked over to the window and turned to face him again; "I should explain from the start, that would be easiest. I arrived back into town shortly before y'all left the hospital. I asked around and found out that Candy here, had been hurt the other night. I came in to get up to date with the events of the last few days. Candy was telling be what had happened when Grenda ran past the door shouting for help."

Attention turned to the young woman who was shaking in her chair, her teeth gritted and her muscles tense. Even in her venerable mental state; Mabel comforted her friend, holding her hand tight, waiting for Gideon to continue.

"She was shouting about an animal in the hospital, from what I gathered; so, I ran after her. I was lead to another room on the upper levels, where Grenda was trying to break down the door. There was the most awful screeching noise and banging coming from the other side, so I decided to break it in with the new amulet I purchased," the snow-haired boy held up a new necklace made of some pink stone cut in the shape of a rose. "Inside was probably the strangest thing I've ever seen, and I was with you during Weirdmageddon! There were two unconscious people on the ground, covered in blotches of ink and feathers, and all the medical equipment had been knocked over. The man in the bed; I assume you all know him," Gideon noticed the drop in energy upon mentioning this; "He was injured badly; cuts, bruising and serious bleeding from where his IV was torn out."

"That's when I noticed what had happened, and why Bubbles flew away," Grenda spoke out, tears dripping down her cheeks. "He fought off the nurses, and kept Denis alive by constricting his arm to stop the bleeding but…" she began to sob, now clinging to Mabel like a scared child.

"The little fellah held out as long as he could, but his injuries weren't treated while we were helping the butler, and he passed away," Gideon finished. A minute of silence with the occasional sob from Grenda, it left a sense of hopelessness in the air, and a sickening taste in Dipper's mouth.

He didn't know what to do. Looking around at what was left of his friends, he knew he couldn't raise any morale, things were too bad right now. Wendy stood beside him and held his hand, also lost as to what action needed to be taken. Chaos was picking them off, trying to hurt them physically and emotionally, and it was working.

Dipper thought of putting on the Prophet's Ring to examine the timelines for guidance, but there could be thousands of choices to make before reaching Chaos. The difference in his fight against the ancient monster could be as simple as leaving the hospital left foot before right. It seemed like his only choice, how else would he gat to Chaos before the next attack?

The sound of light tapping came from behind Wendy, who gave Dipper a light tug and signal to the noise. "Wendy get back, and prepare yourself," he whispered. She did as instructed, secretly manoeuvring herself behind her boyfriend, but in front of Mabel and Grenda. Reaching into his pocket, Dipper held the Ring before his finger, prepared to fight. The soft sound grew closer until it was just outside the open door.

Into the room stepped a heavily wounded man, it was Denis. Dipper eased himself, knowing there was no danger, but felt his heart tug at the sight before him. The butler, while only a few years older than him, looked like frail old man. In his arms, he cradled the animal that had saved his life, afraid to let go.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Dipper spoke out, causing the others to face the visitor. Grenda jumped up to her butler, but stopped just a foot away, fearing that he would crumple at the slightest touch. He sighed, and trembling, handed his friend the hawktopus and walked over to Dipper.

"It's alright, she was a good friend. I wish it didn't have to be like this but it has happened that way, no changing that," his voice was weak, and just standing seemed to exhaust him. "What is your plan now, Mr. Pines?"

Dipper looked around to all the eyes in the room, each focusing on him intently, waiting for the answer. The answer he didn't have. "I don't know," he hung his head ashamed. "Chaos could literally be anywhere, and we can't ask Matti for help because her use of power will just make him stronger!" he began to shout, but his anger wasn't at his friends; it was at Chaos, and his own weakness.

"Then perhaps this will help," came the frail voice from behind him. Slowing taking of the emergency bandages on his torso, Denis exposed the wounds left by the possessed hospital staff. Carved into body was a picture; trees extended from his ribs, a cobbled path ran out his gut to a triangle below his sternum; and above it was a circle, small and floating.

"Good God. That's what they were doing?" Gideon said, trying to hold down whatever he'd eaten earlier. It would no doubt be there for the rest of his life; no medicine could fix it.

Though awful, Dipper knew exactly what it was; "Cipher's statue."

All gazes, expect Grenda who still held the feathered heroine in her arms, returned to him. Dipper figured out whatever he had to.

"Can we end this Dipper?" Mabel asked, standing with Matti's gift in her grip.

"Yes, I know where to find Chaos, but then we have to beat him or everything goes to the void," he confirmed.

"Well what are we waiting for?" Wendy asked, "Let's go send out season's greetings," she said cracking her knuckles.

"Not so fast. Mabel has a tool of Order and I have one of Chaos; we can fight but everything else doesn't even scratch corruption," Dipper explained. It was unfortunate, but without the right equipment, it would be kinder to slit your wrists than fall to corruption.

"What about this?" Candy asked from the corner of the room. The young woman pulled out the pocket knife that Mabel left her. Mabel took the tool in her hand, and walked over to Grenda, who was reapplying her butler's bandages. The brunette held the pocket knife up to the injured man, causing it to glow a faint blue.

"It's just like the mallet! Once it's near Chaos it will be just as powerful as an actual weapon!" she announced excited; finally a bit of luck; an extra companion to fight Chaos was a serious benefit. Tossing the blade to her lumberjill companion, Mabel felt as ready as ever. Now was the time for action, they couldn't afford to lose anymore. The trio said their goodbyes, were wished luck, and left for the forest. All the others could do at this point was pray.

/

Dipper, Mabel, and Wendy stood in grove clearing. It was evident something was very wrong. Where there was once an overgrown clearing with the statue of their old enemy, was now a barren patch of land, where the trees themselves leaned away from it, as if the land was poisonous. In the centre was a pile of rubble; Bill's shattered statue only recognisable by the stone eye which was mostly intact.

Dipper walked towards the scree, kicking aside pieces while the girls looked around for any sign of danger. Both of them had their weapons out, still a faint glow to them, implying they were getting close. After a minute of searching with no results Dipper called out to the pair; "I'm going to use the ring and see what comes up."

Slipping the relic onto his finger, Dipper saw the treads of fate reveal themselves coiling and floating above him, but this was different; Mabel and Wendy weren't frozen in time, they were looking at him confused.

"Erin, are you there? Why hasn't time stopped?" Dipper spoke into the relic. As always, the floating orb of light appeared to answer.

"That is because the All-Maker removed to time curse from it," the orb answered.

"Uh-huh, and what does that mean?"

"Removal of the time curse means there is no drain on the wearer aside from mass power usage," Erin explained, in the same tone.

"Ah," Dipper nodded, and looked to Mabel and Wendy who were still waiting for a response; "It means the ring isn't killing me when I put it on."

"Oh, that's good," Mabel said, "But can we got on with the show?" she looked at her phone; "It's 8:45pm on Christmas Eve…Christmas Eve." Mabel looked blankly at the screen. "He is so dead; he hurt my friends, tried to kill my family and now he's ruined Christmas preparations," she said, only loud enough for Wendy to hear.

Dipper held out his hand, and the treads of fate began to move. Unlike the other times when he used the ring; he only received two strands; one forward and one back. He grabbed the tread before him which lit up gold before shattering. In front of his eyes the rubble of Bill Cipher began to move, lifting itself off the ground into an arch, and at the centre was the eye. Dipper reached out and touched it causing a blast of hot air to rush towards the centre of the grove. With a loud bang and rush of cold air, a pitch-black portal stood before them. It fit perfectly in the stone arch, a light humming resonating from it.

Dipper stood before the it, the ring still on his finger. He looked to his left and saw Mabel ready to finish everything, she just wanted it all over. He looked to his right and saw Wendy holding the pocket knife, an accepting smile on her lips. They all knew this was the end; either they would save all of existence for some time at least, or they would fall. Turning back to Mabel, Dipper gave his sister a tight hug which she returned; then he turned to Wendy who gave him a kiss and a smile; "I'll be fine, I know it will."

And with those last words, Dipper stepped through the shadows followed by Mable and Wendy.

* * *

 **Alright, so that's that. Next chapter will probably be the finale, or at least the end of the action before an epilogue chapter.**

 **SUPER SPECIAL THANKS to BIuefish, for his amazing coverart! If you haven't seen it yet, check it out by requesting the desktop sight if using a phone! Can be also found on his deviantart page.**

 **Special thanks to Geekngroom and FullMetalKhaos for their encouragement throughout this story.**

 **There will be a full list of shout outs at the end of the last chapter to all the reviewers who stuck with the story until the very end!**

 **As always, Stay Classy,**

 **TGGDSD.**


	17. Finale

A Spark of Hope

Finale

It was cold. The darkness stretched forever, and there was no sound from the steps Dipper took. The portal had transported them somewhere, but he had no idea.

"Wendy? Mabel? Are you there?" he asked. His voice didn't ring out like it would in a cave, or reverberate as it would in a small room.

"Yeah I'm here; Mabel?" Wendy's voice came from behind him.

"Yup, but I can't see anything," Mabel responded, from somewhere in the darkness.

Dipper began to walk forward, his hands outstretched as not to walk into something. Carefully shuffling forward a few steps, the young man began to feel panic well up inside him. Had this been a trap? Was the portal a one-way trip to the void where they would fade from reality? Before fear took hold, he felt something underfoot. Stepping onto the object caused it to sink slightly.

"Oh, that can't be good," he muttered. Immediately the space he'd stood on lit up dark red, and begin to rise. Floating steps away, a crimson cube hovered peacefully, emitting enough light for Dipper to see himself and the girls when they approached him.

"What is it?" Wendy asked, examining it from various angles.

"Not sure, but be careful; it could be a sentinel, and I really don't want to trigger a defence system," Dipper pointed out, relieved when the lumberjill stood back beside him.

Looking carefully at the object, Dipper was unsure of its purpose. He held up his hand towards to cube, surprised when the Prophet's Ring began to glow as he got close. "Not sure if that's good or bad," he thought. Turning back to his companions Dipper's heart stopped momentarily: the was a figure several paces behind Mabel.

"Behind you!" he shouted, causing the others to spin around with their weapons ready.

"What is it!?" Mabel asked, her mallet ready.

"What do you see Dipper?" Wendy also had her knife ready, her eyes scanning the black abyss.

"T-There was, some _thing_ , in the darkness. I looked human, but it wasn't clear," he replied, blinking rapidly in an attempt to find the figure again. "Just, stay on guard, please," and with that returned to the crimson box ahead.

Deciding to put his hand on the object, Dipper was relieved when nothing happened. Unlike the cold air of that realm, the object was warm and inviting. As Dipper pulled his hand away, the cube shook violently with the sound of thunder and the darkness itself began to get pulled into it. As terrifying as the endless darkness was; what lay before the trio was nothing short of a nightmare.

They were inside an ancient castle, decayed for eons, holding together by the corruption of Chaos' power. What Dipper noticed next shook him to his core; attached to the walls were his friends and townspeople whom Chaos had abducted. Tambry, Susan, Tomson, the clerk from the Summerween store, there were so many; he could only imagine that Gravity Falls must look like a ghost town at that moment.

Wendy ran to Tambry, tapping her face lightly in an attempt to wake her, but to no avail. It was either the shock of the corruption or the serious injuries that could be seen that had rendered the poor young woman unconscious.

"We've got to help them!" Wendy pleaded, gripping the black vines that imprisoned her friend.

"Try the knife," Mabel suggested, looking blankly at the rows of prisoners, her emotions numbing. This was too much for the brunette to take in, and the only way to cope was to remove herself from the situation. Dipper feared she would need support after this, depending how things turned out.

"Wendy, please wait," Dipper spoke, placing his hand on his distraught companion; "Even if we get them out of the seals, we can't return them home until we deal with Chaos, and having them awake may put more stress on their bodies."

The red-head gritted her teeth, then exhaled regaining her cool; "You're right, the mission comes first."

The walk through the abandoned structure was strenuous, not because of all the walking, but the need to resist stopping at every person they passed or else they would never get to their destination. During their exploration, Dipper noticed a crack in one of the walls. As he followed it, the crack grew larger and more open until it exposed the world beyond the walls. There was space, and only space. The ancient fortress was a floating monument in the corners of space. Dipper knew that he wasn't in the void thanks to the few lights of stars that glittered in the darkness; "At least we're still technically 'somewhere,'" he thought. Shortly after the group came to a split in their path, both looking dangerously unstable over a fall that would dump someone into space to suffer the effects of a vacuum.

"Which way should we go?" Wendy asked looking back the way they came for any sign of the figure Dipper thought he saw.

"Left looks less rickety, probably should choose this one," Mabel offered, pointing towards the passage.

As she went to step forward, a strand of fate rose in front of Dipper. He grabbed it when suddenly, all he could see was black. He turned around to see a beam of light shine down on the body of his twin, lying flat on her face. Just above her stood the figure Dipper had seen earlier, though it wasn't a person. Standing any feet away was Death; exactly as the stories had portrayed it: a hooded figure with no face in torn black robes wielding a large scythe. It reached out towards the young man, a single bony finger extended causing the air to vibrate intensely.

"AAAGGGHHH!" Dipper screamed, feeling a hand grip him.

"Dipper it's okay, it's Wendy, WENDY!" the lumberjill shook him. Her boyfriend had just frozen in front of her a second ago, and now he was having an absolute fit.

"W-What, Wendy, wh-where, t-t-the path, Mabel!" Dipper stuttered and fumbled his words out, beginning to calm down when his twin came into his gaze. After a minute to regain his composure he began speaking; "We're going right, first and foremost. As for my freak-out just now; it seems the ring is reacting to this place only at key moments; moments of life and death."

"But you were able to see me get crushed by that tree the first time you even wore the ring, what made you freak out this time?" Wendy asked.

Dipper explained what he saw; how he couldn't see how somebody died, just that Death would come for them. Mabel shuddered at the thought of a cloaked figure approaching from the darkness to take her from this world. Steeling their nerves, the gang took the other path with no problems. Occasionally fate strands would appear give Dipper a general idea of what would come.

After what seemed like forever, the trio turned a corner into what looked like a room of worship; there were rows of stone seats on each side, all looking inwards to a small crystal basin. As they got closer, Mabel instantly recognised signs of corruption as the crystal basin was a black quartz, rooted by the shadowy veins of Chaos' magic. Deciding it best to move on quickly, Dipper motioned for them to proceed. When they reached the far side of the hall, they found the passage blocked by corruption.

"Is there a way to get around it?" Mabel asked as Wendy tried to cut away the shadows with her small blue blade, but to no avail. As these words were spoken, the light grew dim, only the golden glow from the Prophet's Ring and the cyan light of Matti's blessed tools remained. Back in the centre of the room, floating above the basin was a deep purple flame, a voice whispering at them. Approaching the flare, the voice grew louder and clearer, speaking in a strange language: "Vraskil droh craxti benyeldif, trunevy viblek ner mazter, vyu knant depheet him. You will burn!" The voice had become clear, Eris the demon of strife and discord was talking to them!

"How are you still alive! You were destroyed by me, personally!" Dipper exclaimed at the flame. It laughed sickly, amused at the discomfort of the mortals surrounding it.

"Yes, you did do that, with Ascalon: the golden spear. That wasn't very nice of you," the voice tittered at him as if to a bold child.

"Cut the crap and tell us how you aren't dead," Wendy threatened, holding the blue blade towards the fiery orb. It hovered silently for a few seconds before answering.

"I'm sure you've met the Master's guests by now? Well how better to resurrect the essence of strife than to imprison mortals and mentally torture them!" the monster began laughing again, as if it could see the disgusted faces the trio were making.

"You're sick! Everything is so twisted and vile in this place," Mabel spat. Eris' laughter subsided and the ruins began to rumble and shake lightly.

"It seems my Master grows tired of my antics, go now and die by his hand. And you, red-haired mortal; don't damage your body too badly, I will possess it once you've be turned to a hollow shell and regain my physical body once again," the voice chuckled, before a tiny piece of purple fire flew over Wendy's head toward the end of the hall, parting the corruption and pushing back the rubble.

"I appreciate your concern, but nobody gets this body except him," Wendy pointed to Dipper who eyes widened at the remark. Before he could interject he watched his girlfriend thrust her weapon into the essence of Eris causing the flame to sputter as the voice within screamed and cursed.

"HOW DARE YOU! MY CORE IS BOUND TO THE MASTER'S POWER, YOU HAVE NO WAY OF ENDING ME!" Eris howled, as Mabel joined in on the demon beat down, slamming her own blessed mallet against the flame as if it was as solid as stone.

Dipper stepped forward with his hand open, the golden strands of pure untampered fate collecting in his grip; "Chaos may bring you back, but he won't waste that energy before we fight him. When you get to hell, tell them the Dipper sent you…and then apologies on my behalf for the inconvenience." Smirking at the bad joke, Dipper closed his hand around the fate strands which once again became the golden pine-tree tipped spear. The girls jumped back as the young man pierced the flaming ball, causing its violent shrieks to echo down the ruins, before raising the weapon and plunging it into the corrupt basin with a brilliant golden blast of energy which burned the shadows back. As the essence of Eris dilapidated into nothing, Dipper released his grip on Ascalon, causing it to separate into raw fate on the air.

Mabel looked at her brother and shook her head; "That was such a terrible joke, honestly."

Dipper shrugged; "I heard it long ago, and it's one of my favourites; sue me!"

The group progressed back toward the now cleared exit, relieved when they came across more familiar faces. While their friends were still trapped and unconscious, there was no longer corrupt magic poisoning them, rather Eris' link to their strife had be severed, now they had time to recover. Wendy and Mabel began to move ever onwards, but Dipper felt a chill down his spine making him turn around.

He saw a figure made of purple smoke begin to form around the basin, contorting into a humanoid shape. Dipper recognised it as the form Eris took when she attacked the Mystery Shack. Dipper opened his hand again to summon Ascalon but before the golden threads even appeared, the smoky figure was cut down by a large curved blade. Death stood over the evaporating smoke, raised its hood towards Dipper, then turned and slowly walked back the way it came. Dipper shook his head and let out a full body shiver, glad that he wasn't on the wrong side of Death today; he promptly turned and pursued his companions.

"Everything alright?" Mabel asked hearing her brother's steps come from behind them.

"Yeah, just a final check, that's all," he responded, resisting the urge to turn around again.

They walked in silence from that point, continuing their routine of checking passage ways and trudging through the ancient castle.

"Just how big is this damn place?" Mabel asked rhetorically; she remembered Bill's fortress from Weirdmageddon, but that was nothing compared to her current surroundings, it felt like they had been here for hours, or was it minutes, her mind was fuzzy at the moment.

Finally, after their long exploration of the ruined castle they reached what looked like a throne room. Pillars travelled down the path, wrapped in corruption; but these were different. Dipper noticed that these black vine-like structures were much thicker here than the rest of the ruins, and they had a red glow which beat slowly. It was as if they were veins connected to a beating heart.

"Well it's about time, I thought you had gotten lost," a voice rang from the head of the room. Sitting in a pure black marble throne was Chaos, his eyes burning red, so much so they could be seen from were Dipper was standing at the entrance. "So how does it feel? You've faced demons before, but what about a god?" Chaos mused, sitting relaxed.

"Get ready, things are about to get intense very quickly," Dipper spoke softly. The girls readied their weapons, and Dipper focused on summoning his weapon. "We've defeated everything you've thrown at us, now we're here to stop you!"

Chaos chuckled, the sound echoing down upon the trio. The intensity of the volume was like stones weighing them down. Mabel shook her head vigorously, sweating intensely.

"If you're so confidant, just get to it then," the ancient being spoke, still sitting down.

Dipper raised Ascalon and with his companions charged for the throne, the golden tip aimed at Chaos' chest. With only a few strides to go, Dipper saw a thread of fate fall before his face. As he ran into it a vision triggered, only a second long but powerful: Death with its scythe raised at Dipper. Immediately he pulled the spear back, but his companions were in full motion and couldn't stop. He could only watch as the god smirked at him, and both Wendy and Mabel swung their weapons at Chaos.

Before the weapons even struck, an explosion of shadow emanated from Chaos tossing the girls like pebbles in a hurricane. Wendy was tossed at one of the pillars, hitting it with a dull thud, whereas Mabel was flung at her twin who dropped his weapon to catch her. Dipper was winded as his sister hit him at speed, but that aside he was far more worried about his girlfriend who lay on the cobbles gasping for breath.

"Ah-ah, no time to be distracted!" Dipper looked back to the throne but Chaos was gone. Suddenly and sharp blow to his side brought him to his knees. There was no pain, just shock from the unanticipated blow. The dark god was standing beside him looking disappointed; "How did Eris fall to such pathetic creatures, after being given a fragment of my powers?"

Dipper began to feel fear creep into his heart; all the other demons and trials he had faced were nothing but tiny pieces of Chaos' power. What now bared over him was the real Chaos; the real primal force of the apocalypse.

Sighing, the ancient walked slowly towards the lumberjill Dipper was so fond of. Panicking the young man stood up and immediately fell, hearing his ribs break in several places.

"Oh, are you feeling it now? Good, that was for Eris, I felt bad that you killed her twice…not really, that was to shatter your hope," Chaos chuckled, not even looking at his victim. He knew Dipper would try to stand up, and chose to hold the damage until that moment. Picking up Wendy by the collar, as if she weighed no more than a feather, Chaos turned back to the injured youth before him.

"I so wished that you could have put up more of a fight, perhaps if the meddlesome Order had taught you to use the ring properly, rather than seal so much of its power, you would have lasted a little longer," Chaos spoke, then dropped the red-haired woman beside Dipper and Mabel.

"C'mon Wendy, tell me you're okay?" Dipper begged, nudging her with one hand while covering his ribs with the other. The lumberjill turned her emerald eyes to him, and they broke his heart. She was smiling while the tears flowed down her face.

"It's okay dork; we knew it was a long shot, but at least we tried."

Turning to his twin in despair, he was further upset at how frail she looked; her energy was gone, her reason gone, her anger and hope gone. The hollow brunette didn't even look to her brother, she just reached out towards him grasping at the air. Dipper took her hand, and with the sensation Mabel squeezed her eyes shut, wishing it was a terrible nightmare she would wake from. Removing the hand that protected his broken bones, Dipper placed his hand over Wendy's head, wiping her tears and covering her eyes. This was the end.

Chaos stood smiling. This brought him great pleasure, to see the so-called defenders of Order broken and hopeless. Pacing a few steps backwards, the ancient demon took in the sight of the ruined castle.

"Do you know this is both my favourite and most hated location?" he asked, not really caring if the morals were listening. "This is the first thing Order ever created; a castle of creation, a core to existence and hope that out of the darkness would come light. It is also the first thing I took from that fool. Look upon the great works of the divine! This was the so-called heaven, the great beyond, the fields of Elysium!" he shouted, his sick laughter echoing through the barren fortress. "Look around Dipper Pines, there is no hope beyond this, I will reclaim what was mine, I will take away everything Order has created, and I will seal her away in a prison of pure corruption until she can no longer comprehend anything other than me!"

Rotating in place Chaos raised his hand, a black mass of shadow that spit red lighting grew intensely in his palm. The cold air of the structure grew hot and Dipper struggled for breath. He closed his eyes, squeezed his sisters hand, and whispered into Wendy's ear; "I love you so much."

Chaos threw the orb at the trio, detonating an incredible explosion of lightning and darkness which shook the entire castle, causing a large section to fall off into the abyss.

When the sound of ringing passed, Dipper still had his eyes closed. He felt warm, and relaxed. His ribs didn't hurt or feel broken, he felt at peace.

"I'm sorry Dipper, I underestimated Chaos, but I still need your help to defeat him. Open your eyes Dipper. Open them!"

Quickly he did as instructed, and standing with her back turned to him was Matti. Only she wasn't in her overalls, but rather the golden armour of her godly form and wielding a large ruined-Warhammer which glowed bright blue like the ruins on Matti's body.

"H-how did you get here!?" he asked amazed.

"I told you; you were being watched by Eros and it informed of the situation," she responded.

Looking around, Dipper noticed a pink tinge to his immediate surroundings; as if an airbag of light coated him and the girls from Chaos' attack. As the aura withdrew, it took the form of a small pink dove which cooed softly before taking flight towards to high perch.

"I understand you are afraid of Chaos, but I need you all to fight back against the dark. Take these, I'm sure they are more suited to your preferences," Matti spoke. With a clap of her hands and the sound of thunder, two ruined hatchets floated before Wendy which she took happily. Another clap of the goddess' hands, and an old pistol appeared before Mabel; it had an indentation in the base where something was missing.

"Use the gifts I gave you, no longer as shields but as ammunition to cast aside the shadows."

Mabel took one of the blue spheres Matti had given her and slotted it into the notch of the weapon causing it to illuminate and hum with power.

"Just like my reliable grappling hook!" the brunette grinned.

"What about me?" Dipper asked, hoping for something to fight Chaos.

"You have the Prophet's Ring. Focus on its power, ask it for assistance and it will reply," the goddess spoke in reply, pointing at Dipper's hand. "Now move aside and gather your strength, I will distract the monster for as long as I can," and with that said the ancient being raised her weapon and took some steps forward while the trio retreated out to the side of the throne room.

"Alright, here goes nothing," Dipper muttered and closed his eyes, concentrating on his relic. A soft golden glow shone from the ring, hidden just out of sight from the gods only yards away. Wendy and Mabel watched Dipper descend into a type of meditation as he entered to deeper parts of the Prophet's Ring, only to have their attention pulled to the battle between Order and Chaos.

/

Matti strode forward, and stood feet away from Chaos. Each looked at their nemesis silently for a brief few seconds, before Chaos grinned.

"Welcome home, do you like what I've done with the place?" he asked mockingly; his shadowy form standing straight, proud of his handiwork.

"I think it needs a little colour," Matti said, and without warning slammed her Warhammer into the ground causing a wave of sharp crystals to erupt from the floor towards Chaos. Several of the sharp rocks pierced the demon's body making him wince and grumble at being impaled. To the shock of Mabel and Wendy, the crystals around Chaos turned jet black and shattered. The dark god readjusted himself and sneered slightly.

"That, wasn't, very, NICE!" he bellowed, pointing his hand out, firing a beam of condensed shadow at Matti who raised a bubble of blue magic around herself as a shield. Very quickly the bubble began to crack and splinter until it exploded against the force of the dark energy. When the dust cleared, there was a stone figure which looked exactly like Matti, with its middle fingers raised at Chaos.

"Didn't like my present? Old people are no fun," the goddess' voice laughed out. Now irritated, Chaos raised his hand once more, pointing at the statue and closing his grip on the air, obliterating the insult down to its atoms. The ancient proceeded to leap from the steps of the throne into the centre of the hall, his anger rising quickly as his hair turned silver white and his human features turned to that of a wraith with a fiery core fuelling its power.

"Cheap tricks and distractions! You could never face me head on!" Chaos spat as he searched for signs of his enemy. "Know I will find you, and then I will deal with your human friends; I'll tear out their hearts while you watch, unable to do anything!"

From behind one of the columns Matti appeared and swung her weapon at Chaos, striking with such force to shockwave shook the stones of her ancient home. Half of Chaos' shadowy body had been destroyed in the impact, a serious blow against the god. Raising her weapon for lethal strike, Matti swung again, and was stopped cold. With only half a body, Chaos held the ruined-Warhammer in place and turned his gaze towards Matti.

"Found you," he spoke softly. The demon opened its jaws and produced an incredible burst of lightning which sent the goddess hurtling towards the dark throne, which smashed as she impacted against it. Mabel could see a hole burnt through the golden breastplate of her ally, showing a ghastly wound from the attack.

/

Dipper sat weightless in space, concentrating on sinking deeper into the realm of the Prophet's Ring. He had always called Erin, that guiding orb out of the relic. Now was his turn to travel to a different world.

Feeling the air around him rushing upwards told him he was on the right course, and after a minute the air stopped moving and Dipper felt still. Opening his eyes, he found himself sitting on a wooden floor in a dining room, similar to that of the Northwest mansion. Chairs sat facing each other on both sides of the large piece of furniture.

The central most chairs were more like thrones, one of white light, the other of smoke and shadow; on both sides of each were smaller seats of white and black, and in the centre of the table was a large hourglass.

"Where in the hell…" Dipper looked around, hoping for any sign that could help him in his fight against Chaos. A large ' _thunk_ ' startled Dipper as he noticed large doors on each side of the room open and a number of figures took their seats at the table. The young man recognised some of them; on the far most seat on the light side was a pink dove, Eros, roosted happily in its seat. The closest figure on the dark side was the hooded figure, Death, on the only white chair of the dark side. Inspecting closer, Death's seat was made of bones rather than shadow or basalt.

"Welcome to the primal senate, Dipper Pines," came a familiar voice. Erin was floating above the white throne.

"Yes, well done on hiding like a coward," came another voice he knew too well. The purple fire of Eris' soul hovered above the dark throne.

"Will you ever just die!" Dipper moaned at the purple orb.

"Nope."

Dipper sighed and proceeded to phase out the demon, who was now mostly an annoyance. "What exactly is this place?" he asked his golden guide.

"This is the central source of universal force, a separate dimension where the ancients can contest through strategy rather than force," the light explained. "Though both prefer to spend their time outside this realm, hence their absence."

Dipper looked at the two empty thrones and understood.

"You have come, no doubt, looking for power over the ancients?" came a soft voice from his left. A beautiful flower, of many colours glittered as new buds grew into flowers, which in turn budded again, an endless blooming.

"Who are you?" Dipper asked the talking flower with light wariness.

"I am Life, my dear boy," the plant chuckled happily. Dipper stared, unsure how to feel addressing the force of Life itself. Looking across the table at the robed figure of Death, Dipper came to an immediate conclusion; the various things in front of him were the forces of the universe: Life and Death, Love and Hate, Creation and Destruction, Physical and Spiritual. The pink dove opposite a black wolf with bloody fangs, the blooming flower opposite the reaper, a stone golem covered in vines and stars opposite a molten golem which hissed steam and ash, and a cube of solid pure-white marble opposite a transparent shadow smoke.

"He seems to have caught on quickly," the wolf of Hate mused, "Shall we get on with the test?"

"What test, what's going on?" Dipper looked to the elements confused and unsure about what was to come.

"If you want the power, the real power of the relic you bear, you must withstand the judgement of balance," spoke the golem of creation, its voice old and wise. "You will be subject to our natures, and if you can withstand them, the ring will allow you to use our powers as you see fit; for a short time that is."

The young man looked at the various spirits around him, knowing he had no choice; this was for the sake of everything, to stop Chaos from his ruthless assault on existence.

"I'm ready, what must I do?"

"Brace yourself," came the monotone voice of the marble and shadow cubes together.

Dipper erupted into flames; half of him blazing white, half nightly black. Experiences of his life began to flash vividly through his mind. The elementals of Physical and Spiritual were testing him in their fields; examining his time as human, and the times he was in the dreamscape all those years ago.

/

Outside of the Prophet's Ring, the two titanic powers clashed. While Order held fast against the shadowy assault of her foe, it was clear that Chaos was winning, for Matti was growing tired and weaker.

"Mabel, we have to do something," Wendy whispered, clutching tight to her glowing hatchets. The brunette wasn't sure what decision to make; Matti told them to wait until Dipper had readied himself to fight back, but the goddess was also getting closer and closer to lethal injury. Mabel turned back to examine her brother and jumped having not noticed that his hands were aflame; one white and the other black.

"Wendy, you're right, but let's just wait a little longer. I think Dipper is getting close to whatever he's trying to do," she gestured to her twin. The lumberjill's eyes widened, but she nodded and focused back on the battle just beyond them. Matti's hammer was close to them but Chaos stood in the way, forcing the goddess of Order to hurl waves of energy in an attempt to keep her foe at bay.

/

Dipper fell to his hands and knees as the energy from the two golems receded from his body. His breath was heavy and sweat dripped from his brow, but for the most part he was okay.

"This one is strong," spoke the elemental of Destruction; "Perhaps he can endure the last trial." Both golems returned to their places at the table while Dipper regained his balance.

"Phew, okay, who's last?" he asked wiping the moisture from his brow. The sick laughter of Eris rose from the dark throne in anticipation.

"He has to face the bonds of Life and Death; the mortal will fall, weak and pitiful!"

Dipper was surprised when Destruction hissed angrily at the purple flame; "You forget yourself, goddess of strife and discord! I remember when you too, were moral, begging the dark one for the power to have your revenge on those who wronged you. Were it not for Chaos' influence on your soul, my essence would have destroyed such an unworthy human." The purple flame fell silent, and the molten figure arranged a gravelly smile at Dipper.

"It is time, dear boy. Your final test is ready when you are," spoke the plant of Life. "Take my gift unto yourself and feel the embrace of Death." The plant unravelled a new layer, bearing a golden orb. Dipper picked the item from its place and looked around at the eyes of the other elements; they each had tested him, yet all seemed concerned about the final test, their gazes momentarily shifting to Death then back to Dipper.

"You are running out of time, Dipper Pines. Eat the fruit of Life, the immortal seed, and embrace Death," Erin spoke from above the white throne. Dipper did as instructed.

Sinking his teeth into the golden orb, he felt his heart slow and his senses sharpen. Feeling as if he could move mountains or part oceans, the nectar that poured from the fruit birthed saplings as it splashed on the floor. This was immortality, this is what it was like to be a god! The young man turned to look at the ancient senate only to feel a cold air run through his body. As he turned he felt the bony finger of Death against his forehead, the voice of it was like thousands of whispers in a hurricane, swirling behind his skull. He had felt the essence of Light and Dark in his body three times already, but this was far more intense, to feel the power of immortality and all its possibilities, then having them torn from his very soul was excruciating.

Dark tendrils wrapped around Dipper, like hungry claws dragging prey into a pit. It felt like the shadows wanted to pull him deeper into the Prophet's Ring, but that could only be bad. Feeling a rush, Dipper jerked his body violently, trying to escape, but was restrained tighter. There was silence from the elements as he fought against his trappings, they couldn't interfere without consent from their opposing force.

Having waited long enough, Death took raised his hand again at Dipper. An intense vacuum began weakening Dipper further, he was losing his energy rapidly. That's when he felt it, like a sharp blade against his skin, a strand of golden grey light peeled from his chest and into Death's palm. Another tear and another grey fragment flew out; his soul was being taken. Dipper looked around desperately trying to find some way of countering the attack but found no means, and hung his head as more strands left his body.

The pink dove Eros cooed loudly, and Dipper could see it flapping at the wolf of Hate. The canine looked into Dipper's eyes then bore its fangs in a grin; "I'll allow it!"

Suddenly the silence was broken and Dipper could hear the sound of fighting from beyond the darkness; the shouts of Matti, the laughter of Chaos; and the pleads of Wendy.

"C'mon Dipper, you need to wake up right now! Please, we need to help her!" the lumberjill's voice pierced the veil of shadow.

"Wendy," Dipper lulled, "Wendy," a little louder, "WENDY!" he shouted to the heavens, a radiant burst of gold burning away the black tendrils.

"Well done, Dipper Pines, you have control of the elements of Order and Chaos. There is but one thing left before you return for you battle," Erin spoke, a slight note of relief in the spirits voice, a first from the normal monotone it always used.

"And what's that?" Dipper asked. Instantly he felt an icy pull in his chest. He looked to the source of discomfort to find Death's scythe sticking into his torso. It didn't hurt, it just felt weird, and then the robed figure removed its tool, the piece of Life's fruit stuck to the tip. A weightless feeling overcame him, and the young man began to ascend towards the heavens; he was ready to fight Chaos.

The ancient senate, watched their guest disappear, and proceeded to take their leave; Creation carried Life back through the large doors, Physical turned to dust while Spiritual faded away, Hate and Destruction left through the opposing doors of shadow leaving only Love and Death in at the grand table. Lifting its arm Death nodded to the pink dove which flew from its seat and perched on the figure. The pair vanished in a wave of shadow, returning to the mortal realm where they were always needed.

/

The warm feeling grew cold as Dipper awoke from his trance, only to find Wendy and Mabel watching the battle with absolute terror on their faces. Rising to examine the situation, he grew sick at the scene; Chaos gripped Matti by the throat while shadows whipped her exposed flesh, leaving all too real injuries that dripped golden fluid; divine blood. He wanted to jump in and save his friend, he wanted to attack Chaos and cause a distraction, but every scar on his body burned hot, telling him not to be rash; there wasn't going to be another scar if things went wrong.

"Dipper!" Mabel yelped, seeing her twin not only conscious but standing right behind her. "If we don't do something now I…I don't know what will happen, but it won't be good for us."

"Alright, give me your weapons; both of you," he spoke quickly and clearly. Wendy did as asked, handing over the ruined-hatchets. Dipper gripped them and concentrated hard, imagining the blades being sharp, much sharper that any physical blade. The weapons began to glimmer before bursting with white light, then stabilizing. The weapons blades hummed with raw power, one glorious gold and the other sparkling silver.

He handed them back to the lumberjill who felt a rush at their touch, like electricity running between her palms and the grips. Mabel in turn, offered the firearm Matti had supplied, and watched the same process occur. As her brother held the weapon, it began to glow with intense magic, and bending the alloy to form two chambers: a dove on one side and a wolf on the other.

"Do some damage sis, this is our last shot."

"What about you Dipper, are you gonna be okay without a weapon?" the red-head asked, placing a hand on his shoulder. The young man turned to face the love of his life and grinned; "I've got all I need with me already. Now let's kick some ass."

/

Chaos held his foe tightly, his anger at the goddess had morphed his face clean of human like features. There was only a burning black skull with monstrous fangs and a split jaw, while the deepest of red fire spawned from the eye sockets.

"You have wasted enough of my time," the ancient growled in a low tone. "I'm going to separate your essence from that body and seal you in the black fountain of Eris where your power will fuel her wrath for eons." Matti gasped for breath as the crushing grip around her throat grew more intense by the second. Her vision began to grow dark, the glow of her blue markings began to fade, and she prepared for what fate Chaos had planned.

"Let her go you old, wrinkly, bat-shit crazy, pathetic excuse for a god!" Mabel hollered from the end of the grand hall. That did it, Chaos was pissed. No longer caring about his near dead nemesis, the ancient being hurled Matti into the only remaining wall of the throne room, causing it to crumble on top of her.

"I've had enough of you damn mortals! No more games, I'm ending this now!" the demon roared, leaping towards Mabel like it'd been fired from a cannon. Just before his onyx claws reached the young woman, a shadow flew past moving her out of the way, leaving Chaos to slice through empty space.

"What!?" Chaos looked around, positive his target was just in front of him.

"NOW WENDY!" a voice called before a red-haired woman pounced from her hiding spot behind the pillars and sunk her weapon into the demon's arm, severing it off completely.

Chaos howled in pain, frustration, and above all: rage. The flames of his core intensified, consuming its black skull entirely leaving only a ghostly visage inside the ball of fire. Swinging viciously at Wendy, trying to remove her head, forced the lumberjill to duck beneath the arm, only to get stuck between a pillar and Chaos. The enraged god raised his fist, sparking with chaotic magic, and pummelled down hard.

Again, just before the attack connected, a shadow passed by, taking the mortal with it. Thrusting his fist into empty space, caused it to connect to the ground, triggering an almighty explosion of black dust and crimson lightning that blew the entire section of the ancient fortress below that floor to disintegrate into nothing.

"RAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHHH!" Chaos bellowed, no longer searching for his targets. The demon god began hurling corrupt energy all around himself, destroying columns and removing sections of the floor.

"Hey! Weren't you taught that bad kids get punished?" Mabel called from behind the shattered throne. Chaos turned like a berserk animal, spitting flames as the figure of the man in the coat became a disgusting hybrid of various creatures: a long curving tail with a sharp tip and multiple spines, back legs like a lion, the torso of a large primate resembling a gorilla, vicious front claws of crocodilian design; all of this behind the same sickening skull which now produced a mane of blood-red fire.

"No you don't," Mabel announced and raised her firearm, and without a moment's hesitation pulled the trigger sending a ball of golden light and one of shadow whizzing into Chaos chest before promptly detonating, igniting the monstrosity in a blue aura that dissolved at the wound. Aiming in for another shot, the brunette fired, but Chaos had seen the weapon and vanished in a shadowy gust.

A roar sounded out right above Mabel as Chaos dropped like a boulder. Raising her hands into an attempt to guard herself from the giant beast, she prepared for the assault. In a flash, a solid blow connected to the onyx skull of Chaos with enough force to redirect him away from Mabel. The god guttered a sick noise as the fractures to its face healed quickly, allowing it to examine what attacked him. Dipper stood beside his twin holding the Warhammer of Order. All else in Chaos' mind left, leaving only one desire, one instinct, one purpose: kill Dipper Pines.

The young man readied his large weapon, while his companions stood either side of him. Looking to Wendy, he nodded and without a word the pair chartered at their foe while Mabel rained cover fire. Chaos weaved its way past the infused bullets and instigated a full gallop towards the duo approaching, and leaped just short of them pounding the ground with corruption. From the blackened stones rose two twisted golems which sputtered corruption like lungs full of water. The stone warriors made straight for the red-haired woman while their master charged at the other target.

"I've got them! You deal with Chaos!" the jumberjill called out, as she sliced at her attackers, who unfortunately would just reconnect their lost segments seconds later. What perused was a fight that rivalled the conflict between Order and Chaos in the beginning of existance; both Dipper and Chaos attacked and parried at every instance. Just when it looked like one had the upper hand, the tide would turn and turn again. Chaos was crafty even it its berserk state, placing its foe between itself and the hail of magic bullets that came from afar. If Dipper had any chance of winning, he would have to attempt something really risky, he didn't like it, but the longer he fought the more likely he would lose.

Desperation reached it maximum point as the young man thrust the weapon of Order into the gut of his opponent. The blessed object ruptured the shadowy form of Chaos but also left Dipper open to an attack. The demonic god lashed out at his face, a single claw reaching its mark and cutting down the left side of Dipper face, narrowly missing his eye. This was enough of an advantage, and releasing the Warhammer, Dipper held up both hand and released an influx of energy that dwarfed Chaos' previous attacks.

Falling to his knees in exhaustion, the young man had given it his all, and the results were showing. Flat on its back was the beastly form of Chaos, the shadowy beast now of rotten flesh with no fire of life in its core. The corrupt golems fell to rubble as their dark bindings evaporated, allowing Wendy to ease back on her adrenaline.

"We did it! I can't believe we actually…Dipper! Your face!" the lumberjill dove for her boyfriend at the sight of blood running down his face, his left eye closed to stop blood entering.

"I'm okay Wendy, just a scrape, honest. Please go check on Matti, she may need treatment," he reassured her, holding his hand to his wound. The red-head obliged, though her concern was still focused on her dork.

Dipper sat back, breathing in the cold air, never feeling more relieved in his life. He heard steps approaching and knew his sister was coming over; "That was some fine shooting Mabes, couldn't have done it without you." There was silence for a moment, then the sound of Mabel's pistol firing sounded three times. Sitting up in a start, Dipper saw his sister standing over Chaos, emptying the last of her ammunition into the creature.

"Merry Christmas ASSHOLE!" she yelled; "Phew, okay, it's out of my system. Now, how do we get home?" Dipper chuckled, glad that his twin was back to her usual self. Wendy approached, holding Matti over her shoulder as the goddess limped with her.

"Well done, all of you. This battle is over, and I suspect it will be a long time before the mortal realm hears from Chaos again," Matti spoke, relieved.

"So how do we get home, and with everyone else as well?" Wendy asked throwing a thumb towards the hall out of the throne room.

"I can take care of that, but I'll need much power. The balance will need tipping in my favour, which may be difficult with Chaos gone," the blue-haired goddess frowned.

"I think I have an idea, but you will need to get them to safety first, and then I can restore the balance," Dipper announced, and explained his plan.

/

As Matti clasped her hands together, a blue wave enveloped the ruined fortress, now more rubble in space than a corrupt stronghold. "It is done, now we must adjust the order of things or else Chaos will regenerate at a faster rate." Opening her hand, a blue swirling vortex appeared, a portal back to Gravity Falls.

"I'll be right behind you," Dipper said, watching his party pass through the gate. Looking at the corpse of his foe, the young man was both impressed and shocked to see the wounds already beginning to repair; Matti's magic had seriously disrupted the balance of the universe.

Concentrating hard one last time, Dipper held out his hand as an orb of white light gleamed in his palm. In one swift movement, he tore the Prophet's Ring from his finger, causing the energy to grow unstable rapidly. Lastly, dropping the chaotic relic into the rupturing energy began creating intense flares of lightning of all colourations. Dipper looked up from the rift in his grasp, only to came face to face with Death. The cold figure didn't move, it just simply pointed towards the blue vortex behind Dipper.

"Alright, I'm going now. I'd like to say I'll see you around, but whose friends with Death, right?" he joked. Death stood motionless, still pointing at the portal. "Right," and with that said; Dipper left.

The fluctuating mass of light, grew and poured energy from its core, swallowing more and more space as if prepared to erupt. A sick cracking sound popped as Chaos regained consciousness and repaired itself, once again taking the form of the human in a black coat. Gazing at the mass of energy, the god stepped back at cast a stream of corrupt magic into it, and to his dismay, only increased the size of the flux. Giving up on control, Chaos summoned a black vortex to escape his surroundings only to be blocked by a hooded figure.

"I brought you into existence, and you have only ever worked against me!" Chaos growled, but the figure didn't so much as flinch. "Fine then, I'll move you myself," the god snarled throwing a shadowy spear at his target. With a flash the spear vanished, and Death brandished its scythe towards Chaos. Feeling the heat of the enormous flux behind him, Chaos bellowed and rushed Death, only to see his surroundings from upside down as Death removed his head in one swift motion. Causally, the reaper caught the severed head and held it at arm's length.

"How dare you! I am Chaos, the dark bringer, feared by all universal forces and beyond!" he spat, now just a black skull with a faint light emitting from its eyes. Without a word or any form of warning, Death cast the onyx skull into the flux as it reached unstable mass.

Dipper, Mabel, Wendy, and Matti stood in the frosty grove looking up into the sky as a brilliant wave of colour lit up all of space for several seconds before fading to inky darkness once again.

"It's over, finally," Dipper sighed, and noticing a tear falling from Matti's face, and placed a hand on her shoulder in comfort.

"Thank you, Dipper, but it was my home. The first ever thing I made for myself, which I hoped someday to reclaim from the darkness," she said, wiping her eye.

"Do you think people are gonna freak out that night just lit up like a rainbow for a few seconds?" Mabel asked, her warm breath rising above the trees.

"Eh, maybe they'll just call it a Christmas miracle and leave it be," Wendy suggested, before wrapping her arm around Dippers shoulders and resting her head against his.

"I don't really care what they say, I just want to get some sleep," the young man chuckled, then realised he had an urgent question.

"Hey Matti, what happened to everyone who was captured?" he asked, clearly concerned.

"They are fine, I was able to transport them all to their safest place; whether that be their own home, or somewhere else entirely, it needn't matter, they are safe," the goddess explained, her radiant markings fading and her glorious armour vanishing, leaving the young woman standing in the forest in her traditional steam-punk outfit. "Ah, I can feel the balance restored, in fact slightly in my favour. I shan't use my powers for some time to slow Chaos return. Now, I bid you all good night, and do enjoy your festivities tomorrow."

The goddess walked out of the grove and was met by three gnomes, two thanking her for their lives. She had kept her promise and revived the unlucky victims. Waving goodbye, they escorted her away, while Dipper, Mabel, and Wendy began walking the other direction.

"Guys, my house isn't close by, it'll be at least an hour on foot," Wendy spoke up. They were all beginning to feel drowsy, and the forest was the last place one should fall asleep, especially in Gravity Falls.

"I think we've got it covered," Dipper replied.

Like a shining lighthouse in the darkest of nights, The Mystery Shack stood firm in all its glory. It looked brand new; the construction team Dipper had paid must have finished yesterday while the gang were dealing with their god problems.

"Hang on, something's not right," Dipper stared, and with a nod of his head chucked a stone towards the roof, knocking the building's title and causing the 'S' to fall to the earth. "There we go, alright everyone inside."

Mabel bid them goodnight and slumped up the stairs to her room, wanting to get as much sleep as possible before her blitz of decorating in the morning. Dipper too was feeling the last of his energy fade, and shuffled towards his room, Wendy close behind. The pair fell onto the bed, not bothering to change clothes, a drifted into a deep sleep, hugged together in safety.

/

"Wake up, wake up, wake up!" came the happy shouts of a certain eighteen-year-old brunette, acting like she lost the 'teen' in her age.

Dipper groaned, stiff limbs and sore muscles. Squinting in the pale light of the morning while the shadows of snow fell, a warm hand ruffled his hair softly. His favourite red-head was smiling at him, a smile so wide it reached from ear to ear.

"Merry Christmas Wendy, are you ready for a day full of festivities?"

"You bet'cha!" the lumberjill chirped and prepared her clothes for the day, while her boyfriend left the room. Searching for Mabel, Dipper was met by a large Christmas tree, baubles, tinsel, and all manner of decorations. How had his twin prepared all of this, it was only nine o'clock! When he found Mabel, he understood; not only was there six mugs of coffee on the kitchen counter, but standing around the main room was Gideon, Pacifica, Tambry, Candy, and Grenda.

"Well played Mabel, well played," the young man applauded his sister, who shrugged it off and leapt in for a hug.

"Is the guest of honour ready for presents and games?" she asked. Nodding towards the bedrooms.

"I hope so!" Dipper laughed, then stopped cold; "Oh no. I don't have any presents! Crap, what do I do?"

Tambry laughed at her panicking friend, she seemed to have no memory of her time as hostage in Chaos' domain; "Dipper, it's all right, we got you covered," and with that said Mabel produced a small, fat booklet, with a blue pine tree print on the front.

"Don't worry bro-bro, she'll love it."

"But what about you guys? Granted today is special for Wendy, but I don't have anything for you all either," Dipper said, slight regret in his voice. This was met with more laughter, from everyone in the room, including his twin.

"Dipper you gave everyone FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS!" Mabel pointed out; "Don't sweat it." Those words eased the young man's conscious, just in time for Wendy to walk in, only to be met with cheers and presents.

As the day passed, and the joyous stories of past Christmases were told, the Corduroy woman couldn't help but appreciate the deepest feelings that all her friends put into her first Christmas. Even in the evening, when Lazy Susan arrived for the meal, and the Gruncles called to wish everyone happy holidays, the fuzzy warm feeling stayed with Wendy.

As the evening came to a close, Dipper sat by the fire, a warm cup of cocoa in his hand, he looked to the small mirror above the fireplace and inspected his eye. "Damn that was lucky," he muttered to himself. Granted he didn't walk away unscathed, but a cool scar beats a lost eye any day.

The sound of soft footsteps approached behind him and worked their way to his side. Wendy sat beside him in front of the warm hearth, enjoying the peaceful moment.

"I've got something for you," she whispered, trying not to wake the party-wrecked Mabel, who lay unceremoniously on the couch covered in confetti. The red-head pulled out a small box, the one she received in Matti's workshop. "I was told only let you open it when the time was perfect, and I've never been this happy in my life."

Dipper took the small box from her, and gazed at his love for a few seconds, her red hair reflecting the glow of the fire, contrasting with her beautiful emerald eyes. As he opened it, golden light rushed from the hearth into the box leaving a glittering shine on the case. Opened fully, the small contained held a single ring: a crimson red band made of some element not of this dimension, and an impressive emerald spiral weaving around it. Dipper stared at it, feeling overwhelmed; the ring looked like it was of Wendy's very essence, brilliant red and cool green.

"I love it, and I'll never take it off," Dipper smiled, and kissed Wendy softly, before producing something from his jacket. It was the small booklet the gang had put together as a gift from him to Wendy. He handed it over, watching a grin appear across her face once more as she examined the object. Dipper hadn't actually looked at it, but he trusted Mabel to make it something worthwhile.

"This is very brave of you, dork. Never thought you'd have the guts to put something like this together," the lumberjill teased, waving the gift in front of him. Now he was beginning to panic, what the hell had his sister done! He watched nervously as Wendy opened the booklet once more and tore at the first page, handing it to him.

"Good for 5 kisses…" Dipper read out, and after a few seconds blushed like a tomato, luckily concealed by the glow of the fire. Mabel had made a coupon book from the opinions of all their friends, and Dipper would have to cash them all eventually. With no choice, and definitely no complaints, Dipper did as the little ticket said, continuing the rest of the holidays, giving in to every command the little pages gave. And he loved every single second of it.

/

As the final day of Winter break came to a close, Wendy said farewell to her friends. Her family would be back in a day or two, and it was unfortunate she couldn't meet up with them, but she needed to get back to college and prepare for her last semester. Mabel also had to leave for home, she had plans with other friends and her own work that needed doing. That all left Dipper alone with his research, just like before.

About a week later, Pacifica Northwest of all people came to the Mystery Shack. The blonde told Dipper of the success she had when investing in his technologies, and that she wanted to thank him for the chance to do so. Pulling out a sealed envelope, she handed it to him and wished him luck.

Closing the front door, Dipper made for the kitchen and opened the letter. He investigated its contents, nothing he hadn't seen before, but attached was a hand-written note from Pacifica. As he read the short message, the weirdologist began to smile. He had some calls to make.

/

Wendy walked the campus, heading to her morning lecture with one of her college buddies.

"So Wendy, how was the break, anything exciting happen?" they asked, hoping for some interesting news.

"Nothing out of the ordinary, the usual stuff that happens at home whenever I'm there," the lumberjill replied, she wasn't lying, but explaining what actually happened would get her sent to a mental asylum.

"Yeah, I didn't do much either. Hey, did you hear we have a new professor for mythology? I heard some people talking about it, but it sounds all made up from the stories I've heard."

"Every story has a lick of truth in it," Wendy chuckled as they approached the entrance to the lecture theatre.

"I don't know Wen, this is a little crazy even for the usual BS that people spread around here," the friend said as the pair took their seats near the front.

As the clock chimed on the hour, all the students prepared for their lecture, only to have the headmaster arrive instead. The elderly man cleared his throat for issuing the many students.

"Dear students, I'm sure some of you have caught wind of the new lecturer that will be taking you for this term. While some of you may be inclined to test this change, I assure you that we only have the best here for your benefit. So, without further ado, I leave you to your studies," the old man nodded before leaving.

Wendy looked around, watching the various people in the lecture prepare to take note, or simply take out their phones and play games. The doors behind her opened while she readied her notepad, and a figure descended the steps up to the central podium and readied his presentation. The red-head looked to the projected picture of the first slide and nearly gasped out loud. There was a black and white picture, it looked as if it was decades old, but she knew all too well it wasn't. Grenda's butler sat on a bench in a large garden, beside a large cow/lion hybrid with several small feathered octopuses on his outstretched arm, nestled comfortably. Wendy turned slowly to look at the lecturer, disbelief slapped her across the face.

"Good morning everyone, I will be your lecturer for this term; Mason Pines," Dipper announced from the centre of the room, sending a wink in Wendy's direction. "Now, let get into the fun!"

* * *

 **And that's the end of my tale, what a long road. I hope everyone enjoyed this as much as I did, it could never have been finished without the support of the reviews and PM's from you all asking to keep things going. This entire project was originally an off-time thing I did, and it came to so much more than I thought it ever would.**

 **I would like to personally thank:**

 **Alt Sound**

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 **AtheneTheVixen**

 **Bigmike21**

 **Bipperstar**

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 **Pacio666**

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 **dagon god**

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* * *

 **Very special thanks to Geekngroom, FullMetalKhaos and BIuefish for their unparalleled support and companionship during the creation of A Spark of Hope. To Erin and Jon, thanks for the support and I hope you enjoyed. And to Erik, thanks for the amazing help making this come to full its potential.**

 **Farewell to all of you readers,**

 **AND, AS, ALWAYS!**

 **Stay Classy,**

 _ **TGGDSD.**_


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